Vernon Bowden

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Vernon Bowden is an artist jeweller working in Australia and New Zealand.  His work has been shown in numerous Australian galleries including the Jam Factory, Manly Art Gallery, Rockhampton Art Gallery, Grafton Regional Gallery, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery and various Sydney galleries, and has been selected for the North Sydney Art Prize. 

Internationally he has exhibited at Imperial War Museum, London;  Sieraad Jewellery Art Fair and Museum of Modern Art, Arnhem, Netherlands; and has been selected twice for Legnicia International Jewellery Competition in Poland. 

Vernon’s work is included in numerous publications, most recently in Jen Townsend & Renée Zettle-Sterling’s major book on casting: Cast: Art and Objects Made Using Humanity’s Most Transformational Process, Schiffer Publishing, USA 2017. 

Vernon studied sculpture at the Otago Polytechnic School of Art in New Zealand, and jewellery design at the Enmore Design Centre in Sydney.  He has taught jewellery design at the Enmore Design Centre in Sydney and Whitirea in Wellington, New Zealand. He was the artist in residence at Te Auaha visual arts department 2019-20.

Education

• Advanced Diploma in Object and Jewellery Design with Distinction, Enmore Design Centre, Sydney, Australia. 2006. Awarded Tafe NSW State Medal

• Fine Art Diploma Stage I & II majoring in Sculpture, Otago Polytechnic School of Art, Dunedin, 1986

Exhibition History

2023

• A Tenth Ghost in Albion Jewellery Week, Nelson
• Push Play, Te Auaha Gallery, Wellington 

2022 delimit, Thistle Hall, Wellington

2021

• The Neck, Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre, Canberra, Australia
• ChainReaction, Refinery Artspace, Nelson

2020

• Gewgaws, Te Auaha, Wellington
• Artist in Residence, Te Auaha, Visual Arts, Wellington

2019 North Sydney Art Prize, The Coal Loader, Sydney, Australia

2018 Medium, Bridget Kennedy Project Space, Sydney, Australia

2015

• Little Wars, Gaffa Gallery & Studio 20/17, Sydney, Australia
• Altered States, Gaffa Gallery, Sydney, Australia

2013 Revolt, 22nd Legnicia International Jewellery Competition, Gallery of Art, Legnicia, Poland

2012

• New Nomads, Sieraad Jewellery Art Fair, Amsterdam & Museum of Modern Art, Arnhem, Netherlands
• Ritual, 21st Legnicia International Jewellery Competition, Gallery of Art, Legnicia, Poland

2011 Touch Pause Engage, Objectspace, Auckland

2010-11 Excessory, Museums and Galleries NSW, various national exhibition venues, Australia

2010 Fidelity, Gaffa Gallery, Sydney, Australia.

2008

• Military Iconography in the Decorative Arts of New Zealand, Imperial War Museum, London, England
• Loaded, Gaffa Gallery, Sydney, Australia
• Fuse, Jam Factory, Adelaide, Australia
• Graduate Metal XI, Adelaide, Australia

2007-08 Contemporary Wearables 2007, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Toowoomba, and various regional gallery venues throughout Australia

2007-19 Various group exhibitions in Australia including:

• Alter ego, Re:production, Castoff, Final Frontier, Profile, Comment, Gaffa Gallery, Sydney
• Profile, Winter Brooches, Winter Neckpieces, Very Simple Proofs, For the Love of Coffee, 2006, Ashes to Ashes, Little Big, Chain of Events, Studio 20/17 Sydney
• Inside Out, Zu Design, Adelaide. Over Your Head, Stanley Street Gallery, Sydney. The Neck exhibition, Bridget Kennedy Project Space, Sydney

Citations/Bibliography

• Mark Amery, Curators of Cuba | Episode 10 : Te Auaha with Olivia Kirikiri and artist Vernon Bowden,  CubaDupa, Wellington, 2020. Available at https://youtu.be/kUS-M1kJctc
• Jen Townsend & Renée Zettle-Sterling, Cast: Art and Objects Made Using Humanity’s Most Transformational Process, 2017, Schiffer Publishing, USA.
• Sarah Samild, Interview with Excessory artist Vernon Bowden, Museums and Galleries NSW, 2010. Available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5VSREnF6gw
• Tracey Clement, Art Attachments, Australian Art Review Issue 24, Aug to Oct 2010, Westwick Farrow Media, Australia.
• The Compendium Finale of International Jewellery, 2009, Darling Publications, Köln, Germany.
• Tracey Clement, More than metal and gems, Driven magazine Issue 3, 2009, Walrus Media, Sydney Australia.
• Sean O’Connell, Fuse: Artists and Jewellers exploring self and society through diverse technology, 2008, JamFactory Contemporary Craft and Design, Adelaide, Australia.
• Graduate Metal XI 2008: Emerging ideas in jewellery and objects, 2008, Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia, Adelaide, Australia.