SURF COAST SIZZLE: WHO IS DOUG BARTLETT?

He's a man's man...

He's a ladies man...

He's a man for all seasons (footy that is!)

Doug Bartlett is generally pissed off.

 Fed on a diet of chops and beer Nick Morris and David Bowers work relentlessy under this tirades command.

Doug continually forces creativity. If either party asks if it is okay to paint over the others art the response will generally be, "I hope Doug didn't hear that." He would be absoluteley furious. He sometimes stands outside the garage door, listening to hear the conversations. If it goes in a manner that suggests conservatism towards the art, I pitty the fool who passed such comments.

Doug is a harsh task master.

Doug Bartlett is the alter ego of a collaborative union of uber talented artists Nick Morris and Dave Bowers

It's where old school techniques collide head on with new school technology.

L-R, Nick, Dave.

Nick Morris and Dave Bowers graduated from Monash University (Caulfield) in 1986, both with Diplomas in Graphic Design.

They have worked together in the Street / Surf / Art subculture since creating clothing label “UMGAWA” in 1990.

After selling the UMGAWA label, Morris worked as art director for Quiksilver. He then launched “anyhow”, his own freelance design company in Torquay.

Bowers became a regular Mambo artist, as well as working as an illustrator and musician.

Between them they have produced, and continue to produce, art for brands such as Paul Frank, Stussy, Mossimo, Lee, Globe, and St. Lenny.

They were guest speakers at the prestigious Semi Permanent Art and Design conference ‘06 in Sydney and Perth. Their work was profiled in Desktop Magazine (Jan/Feb 07), and their painting “ THE GAMBLER”, only the third canvas they ever painted together, featured on the cover. They will be speaking at AGIdeas in Melbourne in April 2008. There art has also been published in Marvi Magazine, double page spreads in Useless in Europe, Empty magazine, Semi Permanent Sydney 2004 (8 pages), 2005,Semi Permanent New York book. He has also been profiled in King Brown magazine (issue No1).

Their combined canvases at ART MELBOURNE 07 sold out in two days.

This was the first time they had shown them in Melbourne.

They have exhibited at Fresh Gallery in Melbourne, Ho Gallery in Melbourne and Tiger Fish in Torquay. The prices have almost tripled in three months after an enormously successful showing at Art Sydney. After trucking down the Hume Highway the night before the show and sleeping in the back of the car at a truck stop, art was walking out the door from the outset of the show. An empty trailer was the vision for the journey back and it soon became a reality. They are currently exhibiting at Space Junk gallery in France and Gaffer Gallery in Hong Kong.

With collectors buying from all over the country and also internationally it is boom town for Doug Bartlett and his lacky’s.

“Morris’ and Bowers’ canvases indicate that freshness is still possible in a culture exhausted by all sorts of visual bombardment.”

Dr. Claudia Calirman, New York Museum of Fine Art