Rowan Bazley: folio/about/cv/writing/contact
Rowan Bazley is interested in the end of history and the grand narrative, and how art might be used to simulate new societies.
His recent work interrogates the ideological battles of the 20th century; the many failed utopias which led us to accept capitalism in the west as a logical endgame.
This new cycle of work draws upon traditions of post-war German and Russian painting as forecast and social commentary, as well as Brechtian theatrical staging, political cartoons (such as Philip Guston’s Nixon drawings), 20th century design history and speculative fiction.
The moka pot figure serves as a vessel, a machine and a head. It is a government issued worker unit programmed to provide the city with energy, productivity and clock-like punctuality.
This was ignited by the artist’s reading of R.U.R (Rossum's Universal Robots), Karel Čapek’s 1920 play about robots replacing factory workers and soldiers.
Underlying Bazley’s practice is an interest in how individuals experience large-scale systems through the texture of everyday life.
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I studied at the Royal Drawing School (2018-19) under Sophie Charalambous, I then was taught by Graham Lister at The Glasgow School of Art (2019-22) (the head of painting was Zoë Mendelson), took part in conditions (2023-24), headed by Matthew Noel-Tod and David Panos. I have studied under Neal Tait at Turps Studio Programme (2024-2025), and I in 2025 was awarded the Clyde Hopkins Mentoring Award by Art in Perpetuity Trust, under the guidance of David Webb and Alice Wilson.
In 2023 Gabriella Day and I co ran a studio for 13 artists and gallery in Govan, Glasgow. We decided to hand the project over after a year to focus on our own artistic missions.