Josh Owen was born in the United States in 1970. The son of an archaeologist, Josh Owen spent the summers of his youth on excavations in the Middle East.
Josh Owen holds a BFA in Sculpture and a BA in Visual Studies from Cornell University and an MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Josh Owen has also studied at Tel Aviv University and Cornell University's program in Rome.
In 1998 Josh Owen established his design studio in Philadelphia, PA.
After teaching as an adjunct professor for several years, Josh Owen became an assistant professor of industrial design at Philadelphia University in 2001.
In 2002, Josh Owen was the youngest designer to be included in the critically acclaimed "American Design, 1975-2000" at the Denver Art Museum.
In 2003, Josh Owen was recognized by Surface Magazine as one of the most avant-garde industrial designers in the U.S.
As a result, his work was celebrated and exhibited in that year's Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan, Italy and at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City. In 2004 Josh Owen was included in The Museum of Modern Art's Design Encyclopedia and in 2005 the monograph "Josh Owen: Big Ideas / Small Packages" was published by Woodsphere. In 2006, Josh Owen design studio coursework from Philadelphia University was selected for inclusion in the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City.
In 2007 Josh Owen was made associate professor and academic coordinator of the Philadelphia University study abroad program in Milan, Italy.
In 2008 Josh Owen was named the Craig R. Benson Chair for Innovation at Philadelphia University and began teaching as a lecturer in the graduate department of architecture at The University of Pennsylvania.
Josh Owen is currently an associate professor of industrial design at The Rochester Institute of Technology. Josh Owen studio's client list stretches from Philadelphia and New York City to Canada, The Netherlands and Italy including such notables as Areaware, Casamania, Kikkerland and Umbra. Josh Owen projects are included in international museum collections, numerous books on design and are regularly featured in such international design magazines as AT Maariv, Abitare, Artravel, Blueprint, Clear, Design, DIID, Dwell, Ego, Elle UK, Graphis, Frame, ID, Interni, Intramuros, Lucky, Luna, Maison Français, Metropolis, Metropolitan Home, Ottagono, Readymade, Step Inside Design, Surface, Vogue Taiwan, as well as The New York Times, The Washington Post and Viewpoint. Owen has been the winner of three Chicago Athenaeum Good Design Awards. He has also been the recipient of the ID Annual Design Review Award, the International Design Award, as well as nominations for the Chrysler Award For Innovation in Design and the Athena Emerging Designer Award.
Josh Owen has shown his furniture, lighting and product designs in numerous solo and group exhibitions including 100% Design (Tokyo), 100% Design East (London), the Salon del Mobile (Milan), the Salon du Meuble (Paris), the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (New York) and the exhibition; "Josh Owen: Big Ideas / Small Packages" in Philadelphia.
