Susie Lowndes
A fascination with dichotomies and an engagement of oppositions has been a consistent theme throughout the work of Susie Lowndes. The exploration of the dual existence of a particular state of being, a set of beliefs or aesthetic, alongside it’s antithesis: the idea that one requires its direct opposite in order to exist has prevailed.
Over a 20 year span of painting, her work has evolved markedly. Through her studies in Brisbane and London between 1996 and 2007, earlier works see the artist achieving a level of technical competency and a thorough exploration of the western conventions of fine art making that were cultivated within, and followed on from the Renaissance period. The work seeks to engage the viewer through its emotive and technical qualities with focus on the individual, animal or nature.
In 2014, Lowndes received a scholarship to further study art and creativity. Between 2014 and 2017, instead of working within the conventions of fine art making, again, the artist has sought polarity and explores the notion of anti-vision and the use of paint as material rather than as having the job of representation.
The conventions of representation, realism, composition, perspective and the idea that a painting is a figure upon a ground have been ignored. Atmospheric depth has been eradicated and the strongest endeavour to embark upon the exploration of the antithesis of these conventions has been realised. There is no reference to anything outside of the work, it has its own internal logic, meaning lies within the work. The works are non-memetic. Ambiguity becomes one of the main functions operating with the works and it is no longer possible to easily identify a figure and ground as they interplay and become one another. The viewer is engaged by process of theoretical dialogue rather than of that of emotion. The work is no longer an aesthetic pursuit, but an intellectual one.
In order to reach the current realisation of her work, a contradistinction has been made to previous learnings and works but can only exist because of them.
Susie Lowndes has exhibited in Brisbane, London, Auckland and Wellington.