September 16, 2008
artist hilton owen
I'm heading to Tasmania next week and one place I can't wait to visit again is Handmark Gallery in Hobart's Salamanca Place. They always exhibit the most beautiful artwork, as well as pieces that are really quite different to anything I see elsewhere. This is the case with their latest exhibition - "Zoo World" by Hilton Owen. Talk about prodigious talent - he is only 19 years old!!!
What words best describe you? Dedicated, busy and curious.
What's your proudest achievement? Probably winning the RACT youth portraiture competition and also having this exhibition at Handmark Gallery.
What was the starting point for this exhibition? There was nothing to start with really. I began some paintings with no real plan and all of a sudden I was into this body of work and slowly I began to realise what it was about.
Who inspires you? Everyone really. Pretty much anyone and anything I can see in my life I like to take as inspiration. Other painters I have always been inspired by are guys like Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Looking at their work has always made me want to work.
What are you passionate about? I am most passionate about my artwork but I am passionate about many things. Anything that grabs my interest at first I tend to become passionate about.
What's the best lesson you've learnt? I feel like I am still too young to answer that. It’s the kind of question I will have a really good answer for when I’m older. I have learnt to be dedicated and committed if you want to achieve something, though.
Which person, living or dead, would you most like to meet? I’d feel slightly uncomfortable meeting a dead person so I'll say just anyone really. I don’t really have a huge desire to meet someone famous or important but it would be cool, I suppose.
Images courtesy of Hilton Owen and Handmark Gallery