Lowe's upcoming exhibition Say it with Flowers draws upon the Golden Age of Dutch floral still life paintings and their inherent message that, although vibrant and glorious, life wilts and fades quickly. She borrows “promiscuously” from works by Rachel Ruysch, the most recognized female painter of the period. Lowe describes her new paintings as, “a mash up of flowers that seem less likely to quiver in the wind than to stomp furiously on their way. They attempt to balance a clumsy, sexy and painterly beauty with a meditation on the brevity of our short lives. A flower can suggest the transience of life and procreation at the same time.” Lowe's florals also carry references to the Dutch tulip mania of the 1630s when prices of these temporal earthly blooms skyrocketed then collapsed, becoming the first recorded speculative economic bubble in history. The installation of Say it with Flowers pointedly includes a lusciously painted rug on the floor, a nod towards their frequent inclusion in Dutch paintings, but also a sly symbol of the colloquial “rug salesman,” perhaps an oblique indictment of the art market itself.
Jean Lowe will speak about her work in an artist walkthrough of the exhibition on July 11 at 3:30PM. The opening reception will begin immediately following the walkthrough.