Denis Bowen

Denis Bowen (5 April 1921 – 23 March 2006) was a South African artist, gallery director and promoter of abstract and avant-garde art in Britain. He was founder of the New Vision Group and the New Vision Centre Gallery, both of which played an important role in the post-World War II British art scene.

Their new exhibition space was called the New Vision Centre Gallery (NVCG), and was located on Seymour Place in the Marble Arch area of London. While the importance of the NVCG was often overlooked while it was active, its significant role in shaping British art in the postwar period, and in promoting international artists and abstract art in particular, has been recognised in subsequent years. Artists who exhibited at the NVCG included Aubrey Williams, Judy Cassab, Ron Russell, and Rotraut. Bowen served as director of the gallery from the time of its opening to the time of its closure in 1966.

Art

In the early years of his artistic career, from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s, Bowen formed part of a small group of UK-based artists who were associated with Tachisme and Art Informel. Between 1969 and 1980 he produced a series of "psychedelic works" that incorporated lighting effects (including the use of UV lights), music and live music performances. From the 1980s onward, Bowen's work developed cosmological and planetary themes.