Elizabeth Gower

Elizabeth Gower (born 1952) is an Australian abstract artist who lives and works in Melbourne. She is best known for her work in paper and mixed-media monochrome and coloured collages, drawn from her sustained practice of collecting urban detritus. Early life and education Gower was born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1952. In 1973 she completed a Diploma of Art and Design at Prahran College of Advanced Education, Melbourne. She also holds a Diploma of Education, Melbourne Teachers College (1974), a Master of Arts, RMIT University, Melbourne (1995) and a PhD from Monash University, Melbourne (2014). Teaching Gower has held teaching positions at the University of Melbourne and the Victorian College of the Arts and is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Melbourne. Throughout this academic career, Gower has curated exhibitions and research projects and authored essays and catalogues. These projects build on her professional and creative interests, and often bring together groups of emerging and established artists. Australian Arts Review argues that her teaching and art have influenced many of Melbourne's emerging artists. Artistic practice Gower has been exhibiting since 1975 and is represented by Sutton Gallery in Melbourne and Milani Gallery in Brisbane. Her work developed as a young artist during the 1970s feminist movement, and with her involvement with groups such as the Women's Art Movement, the Women's Art Register and the Lip Collective. Her use of collages and wall hangings in largely abstract compositions deploys domestic materials such as newspaper and tissue paper, as well as textiles and craft techniques. Curator Lisa Sullivan states that Gower's work elevates forms and practises derisively considered ‘women’s work’ to the status of art.