Kees Ouwens
(Jaarsveld, the Netherlands, 1958) Stone sculptor, designer of spaces, ceramist and painter. He studied Garden Design and Landscape Architecture at the Royal Horticultural College in Utrecht-city (1978 – 1981). In 1982, he went to Japan to study abstract Japanese garden construction, stone sculpture, art and culture. He was an apprentice for 3 years under garden architect Shoji-Miyamoto and for 2 years under sculptor Tanaka-Tanzo. His first monumental sculpture was made in 1985 at the "Ohtsuki Art Symposium," Kochi prefecture, Japan, and his first exhibition of stone sculptures was in 1986 at Gallery Balai Budaya, Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2010, he founded Seiyo -Art- Initiative, inviting artists to come over and make art works and exhibit these at his studio or in the rural landscape of Seiyo city. Since 2016, he has based his new studio, La Coyotera Taller Estudio, in Umecuaro, Michoacan, Mexico. He also initiated a yearly art event called Proyecto en Sitio, inviting artists to make art works and installations that are placed on selected sites around the studio.
