The House of Love: Nitty Gritty (Deluxe Edition)

Melbourne : Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2021. Quarto, boards in illustrated dustjacket, pp. 232, extensively illustrated; housed in a bronze coloured slipcase. The deluxe edition, limited to only 9 copies plus one artist's proof, accompanied by a companion volume, being a matching clamshell box housing an original bronze sculpture by Dean Bowen The House of Love (Nitty Gritty) 2021, 135 x 195 x 50 mm, cast by Perrin Sculpture Foundry, Melbourne, hand-painted in oil by the artist, in a diecut foam case with signed colophon label.

The rare deluxe edition, limited to only 9 copies, and only the second Australian art monograph to be issued with an original bronze sculpture, the other being the monograph on Robert Klippel published in 1981.

This spectacular book presents a richly illustrated record of the sculptural practice of Dean Bowen, whose thematically related paintings and prints featured in 2009 in Argy-Bargy, a twin volume.

Hundreds of bronze sculptures by the artist are beautifully reproduced, and the reader is invited into his studio and the nearby bronze foundry where they were conceived and created. These sculptures reveal the humanitarian and environmental values expressed in all of his works. Many are now in public collections and his monumental bronze Wombats, Echidnas, Owls and other creatures are now encountered in numerous public spaces.

Bowen's career to date is described in detail, outlining an extensive history of exhibitions held throughout Australia from as early as 1983, as well as the numerous exhibitions which have travelled to Japan, Germany, Switzerland, the UK and France. Written by Douglas Stewart, Douglas Stewart Fine Books, Armadale.