Jonathan Owen specialises in a kind of elegant vandalism. By reducing his subjects he delicately examines the essential qualities of an object or image, transforming their entire meaning and presenting the viewer with the curiously unexpected.

Owen’s “drawings” begin as photographs found in books. He gently removes parts of the original picture which creates a new narrative within the image, whilst leaving a ghostly trace of what was there before. His sculptures work in a similar way. Small found wooden figures, and more recently marble statues and reliefs, are intricately carved to create a disjointed and reduced version of the original form, presenting an unsolvable yet innately intriguing puzzle.

Owen was born in Liverpool and graduated from Edinburgh College of Art MFA in 2000. He currently lives and works in Edinburgh.

Between March and April 2014, Ingleby Gallery hosted a major solo exhibition of Owen’s eraser drawings and sculptural work. As part of the nationwide exhibition GENERATION Owen’s work is currently being presented by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and will be on show at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh in the Autumn of 2014.