A Book of Encounters is the first major monograph on Robert Owen, tracing six decades of an Australian artist whose nomadic practice — spanning sculpture, painting, photography and installation — has shaped contemporary art since the 1960s.
About This Book
Made in close collaboration with Owen and his studio, this 400-page volume moves across poetic, critical, historical and biographical registers to unpack the artist's extensive archives. Born in Wagga Wagga in 1937, Owen's life and practice carried him from regional Australia to Sydney, the Greek island of Hydra, London and Melbourne — and this geographic restlessness is matched by an intellectual one. The book reaches into Owen's sustained engagement with philosophy, psychology, science, mathematics, music and literature, framing his art-making within a remarkably broad intellectual context. Essential reading for those interested in Australian contemporary art and the conceptual underpinnings of a singular, long-form practice.
Key Features
- 400 pages of archival material, critical essays, biographical writing and poetic texts drawn from six decades of Owen's practice
- Edited by Angela Connor
- Published by Perimeter Editions
What You'll Discover
- How Owen's nomadic trajectory — from Wagga Wagga to Hydra, London and Melbourne — shaped the concerns and form of his practice across media
- The through-lines connecting Owen's early life in regional Australia to his emergence at the forefront of contemporary art from the 1960s onward
- The philosophical, scientific and literary frameworks that underpin Owen's work in sculpture, painting, photography and installation
- A multidisciplinary editorial approach that holds poetic, critical, historical and biographical modes in productive tension across a single volume
About the Author
Angela Connor edited this volume in close collaboration with Robert Owen and his studio. Owen (b. 1937) is considered one of Australia's most eminent contemporary artists, with a practice spanning over six decades across sculpture, painting, photography and installation.
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 400
- Dimensions: 237 x 169 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9780648680154
- Publisher: Perimeter Editions
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Collectors and students of Australian contemporary art, curators, researchers interested in cross-disciplinary artistic practice, and readers drawn to the intersection of art, philosophy and biography.