Andy Owen
Andy Owen
Andy Owen is an Professor of Art at Florida Gulf Coast University. He earned a B.F.A from the University of Florida and a M.F.A from the University of Arizona, both in printmaking. Andy currently teaches multiple levels of drawing and non-toxic methods of printmaking at FGCU. Throughout his career his work has received numerous awards and has been regularly exhibited in regional, national and international exhibitions.
The waters surrounding Southwest Florida have inspired my work for roughly 50 years. Currents, tides, shorelines, rains, ocean surfaces and depths have all played an important role in this body of work. Recent works are inspired by the 10,000 Islands. I often seek refuge in these islands, the peaceful waterways and isolation they offer feeds my spirit. Images of battered shorelines left behind in hurricane Irma’s path are rich subjects, the stripped tress revealing a skeletal dance of line while also serving as a reminder of the fragility of the ecosystem when faced with the overwhelming power of change. Recent work has become perhaps less poetic and more direct as I have become more concerned with local water quality issues and the degradation of our environment. Images inspired by red tide and fish kills have dominated recent worksMy work is motivated by the idea that the natural environment is a complex and meaningful balance of the sublime that is essential to our well being rather than a commodity to be parsed, exhausted and profited from.