Stephen Bowers is known for richly decorated ceramics which reflect his interest in aspects of craft traditions, natural history, memory and commentary. He has participated in numerous exhibitions within Australia and overseas, including the UK, USA, Norway, Italy, Denmark and China.

His work is represented in many collections, including the Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth WA, Stanthorpe Art Gallery QLD , the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn USA, Art Gallery of South Australia, National Museum of Art Architecture and Design, Oslo Norway, Arulen Arts Centre, Alice Springs Territory Craft Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Modern Art, USA, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston Tasmania, Museum of International Ceramic Art, Denmark, Australian National Gallery, Canberra ACT, Museum and Art Galleries of the NT, Darwin, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville QLD, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Bathurst Regional gallery, NSW, Shepparton Art Gallery, Victoria, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney NSW, Geelong Museum and Art Gallery Vic, Gold Coast City Council Collection, Qld, Art Gallery of Queensland, City of Whitehorse Art Collection, Victoria, University of New South Wales Visual Arts Collection, Janet Holmes a Court Collection, WA, Queensland University of Technology – Art Collection, Brisbane, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, National Museum of History, Taipei Taiwan, Parliament House, Canberra ACT, Manly Art Gallery, Sydney NSW, Mitchell Library, Sydney NSW, State Library of South Australia, Adelaide SA, etc

In 2014 Stephen received an Arts SA Fellowship for exhibitions in the USA and, in 2015, a Churchill Fellowship to research blue and white ceramic collections in the USA, the UK and the Netherlands.

In 2018 his work will be presented in the New York Ceramics and Glass Fair/ Frick Museum exhibitions, the Robin Gibson Gallery in Sydney and the Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh.

Stitched Wooden Boxes
20 boxes in various timbers and various dimensions.
Prices range from $320 - $500.
Each Stitched Wooden Box has it’s own history and various timbers and materials documented

Fragments of places, their history and stories...

The idea of these 'stitched boxes' comes from having lived and worked in the developing world, and a long conversation with an old Italian cabinetmaker from the mountainous area in northern Italy on the plane to Europe. Both - the old gentleman, and myself having experienced the craftspeople in the developing world, have one thing in common: a wealth of old knowledge and limited resources.

The materials used for my boxes all have a story to tell. There is timber from trees which made their way from Nepal to Kew Garden in London, from there to the newly established Botanical Gardens in Adelaide around 1850 and then to the garden where I live in the Adelaide Hills. Some timbers come from bogs in Northern Germany and New Zealand or gravel pits in Gippsland, thousands of years old. Other materials come from old pianos on a tip up North, buffalo horn and mother of pearl from Arnemland, pieces from my project in Samoa, from a sheesham tree on the road to my house in Pakistan, or just fallen timber and burls from the trees where I live.