Jean Lowe | Savoir Faire: What It Is and How to Get It: Quint Contemporary Art: 7547 Girard Avenue

Quint Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of SAVOIR FAIRE: WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO GET IT, the eighth solo exhibition of work by JEAN LOWE at Quint Gallery. SAVOIR FAIRE: WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO GET IT is an exhibition of new works resembling books by Lowe that are painted directly onto aluminum sheets. The aluminum sheets are printed to mimic the bookcase template used by Apple for its iBooks. The opening reception is on Saturday, May 16th from 6-8pm and is open to the public; the artist will be in attendance.

In her never-ending investigation into cultural psychology, Lowe tackles social subject matter that spans from “Business and Career” to “Women’s Health and Wellness.” These issues are keenly labeled on the bookcases and represented in the titles of the books. The bookcases that Lowe has made in the past, out of cardboard that are painted to look like wood, are now rendered digital – as is the norm for our culture today – and they are based off the template used for iBooks, which allows an individual to store their collection on a digital wooden bookshelf on their electronic device. Lowe’s collections are humorous and thought-provoking books, and are painted with enamel directly into the printed bookcase; they take on modern self-help books, education, non-fiction and guidebooks. The books have a tongue-in-cheek reference to art history while also addressing contemporary social issues.

The hand-painted books are juxtaposed nicely by the sleek aluminum print. The impression of looking into a two-dimensional phone or iPad screen is counterbalanced with the addition of real enamel paint, painted to look flat. Through this new work Lowe addresses our contemporary culture’s links to our electronics, while also creating poignant and topical works of art.

Lowe is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego MFA program, where she was also a Lecturer until 2008. Her work has been shown in several solo exhibitions from Los Angeles to New York. Lowe has been shown in solo museum presentations at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City; the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego; The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati; and the Laguna Art Museum. Lowe is a recent addition to the Murals of La Jolla project with a billboard-esque mural on Kline, just east of Girard Avenue. She is the recipient of several awards including the San Diego Art Prize, two WESTAF/NEA Regional Fellowships and the CalArts/Alpert Ucross Residency. Lowe’s work can be found in the permanent collections at the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation; the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University; and the San Diego Museum of Art.