Dean Bowen is featured in a new group exhibition at Bayside Art Gallery. Drawing from Bayside City Council’s Art and Heritage Collection, 'Encounters with Port Phillip Bay' explores the longstanding tradition of artists engaging with Melbourne’s expansive and picturesque coastline.
Artworks depicting the lure of the Bay as a land of promise in the earliest days of colonial settlement as well as during the property boom of the 1880s sit alongside portrayals of seaside leisure, from day trippers of the late 19th century to party goers of the 21st century.
The Boat has been an ongoing subject in my work for many years. Through paintings, prints and sculpture the boat has appeared in different guises and forms often as a cargo boat or hospital ship. My boat paintings reference the Mornington Peninsula both today and historically which has witnessed countless sea journeys, overlooking Port Phillip Bay and Western Port through waves of migration and sea transport. The boat’s journey acts as perhaps a metaphor or symbol of our own unique journeys through life’s adventures and adversities, calm seas, and storms. — Dean Bowen, Artist Statement 2026
The exhibition is now open and continues at Bayside Art Gallery until 26th April 2026.
