Vanna Bowles (b. 1974 in Gothenburg) is educated at the Statens Kunstakademi in Oslo and the Universität der Künste in Berlin, and since 2001 has had an active exhibition activity in Scandinavia and internationally. Bowles explores drawing in combination with sculpture, objects and performance and stylistically finds herself in a surrealist and photorealistic idiom. Bowles often uses optical effects and reliefs that destabilize the dividing line between the picture surface and the room, and she has made a name for herself by combining drawing with sculpture in a peculiar way.

Short bio

Among others, Vanna Bowles has had solo exhibitions at Kunstnerforbundet in Oslo, Lars Bohman Gallery in Stockholm and Galleri Thomassen in Gothenburg. She has participated in Spår at the Malmö Kunstmuseum, Ben ik een dier? At Museum De Dominjen, Nederland, and FEMALE PIONEERS – new voices at Lillehammer Kunstmuseum. Vanna Bowles is purchased by, among others, Lillehammer Art Museum, Malmö Art Museum and the Norwegian Arts Council. She has recently completed several public sculptures, i.a. the work Orädd Resa on Lindholmen in Gothenburg’s harbour. In 2016, Bowles received a 10-year work grant from the Norwegian Cultural Council.