Description:

Robert Owen – A Book of Encounters is the first major monograph on one of Australia’s most eminent artists. Made in close collaboration with Owen (b. 1937) and his studio, this extensive volume assumes at once poetic, critical, historical and biographical modes in its unpacking of six decades of the artist’s archives, offering a comprehensive insight into a figure who has stood at the forefront of contemporary art since the 1960s.

The book not only examines Owen’s nomadic practice – spanning sculpture, painting, photography and installation – but traces through-lines from his early life in the regional Australian town of Wagga Wagga to Sydney, the Greek island of Hydra, London and Melbourne. In doing so, A Book of Encounters expands into Owen’s wider interests in philosophy, psychology, science, mathematics, music and literature. The book features essays and texts from some of Australia’s leading writers, curators and artists.

The book was designed over four years, in close conversation with the artist, and takes several cues from the artist and his work: it is simultaneously systematic and poetic, theoretical and intuitive, scholarly and casual.