Jean Lowe
Hey Sexy
Quint Gallery New York
April 21 – May 26, 2012
Quint Contemporary Art (QCA) is very pleased to announce a solo exhibition of paintings and sculpture by Jean Lowe. This is the seventh solo exhibition for Lowe at QCA. The exhibition will open with a public reception on Saturday, April 21st from 6 to 8 PM.
Lowe’s exhibition is a mix of retail therapy and fairytale visions combined to create abrupt and fascinating interiors in her newest paintings and sculptures. Painted putti and gaudy Baroque interiors house a foreground of consumer products like those found at 99 cent stores, Walmart, Big Lots, thrift stores and flea markets. A trip Lowe took to Austria, Germany and Czechoslovakia informed the Baroque and Rococo interiors used in the paintings.
These whimsical interiors are painted with a loose brushstroke that is typical of Lowe’s painterly hand. The images are detailed but a close look reveals a blurred focus, their components melded seemingly together in a witty commentary on commercialism and extravagance. In a recent article for San Diego Home/Garden, Lowe said, “Being too obvious about my position can just be a turn-off, but humor and approaching things obliquely I think opens an avenue for conversation.”
The conversations within the gallery will be heightened as a portion of the gallery will be transformed into a shop with hand-made “store items,” including objects that are hand-painted to look like kitschy tourist goods. Jean Lowe recently had exhibitions of her paintings and objects in Los Angeles and New York. She has won several awards for her work including a WESTAF/NEA Regional Fellowship in 1992, the Alberta duPont Bonsal Foundation Purchase Award in 2000 and the San Diego Art Prize in 2006. Her work is included in many private and public collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; San Diego Museum of Art; and the University of California, San Francisco.
