One of the most successful and prolific artists to ever call Susanville home will be featured in a spectacular retrospective of her work at the Nevada Museum of Art beginning with a special opening celebration at the museum March 21st.
Visitors to the show can explore Native American creation stories and the legends, traditions and the complexities of Indigenous ancestry through the eyes of renowned painter Judith Lowry.
Lowry, whose ancestors are from the Mountain Maidu, Pit River and Washoe tribes, is widely-renowned for her enormous and colorful storytelling paintings, with her work hanging in museums around the world.
The official information from the museum says that, “Her vivid narrative works draw on family stories and communal Indigenous histories to explore themes of identity, resilience, and spirituality,” but that doesn’t quite capture the true uniqueness of Lowry’s paintings.
There are just no other paintings like them. Stunningly unique and beautiful while telling poignant stories set here in Lowry’s ancestral homelands – Greenville, Susanville and the Honey Lake Valley.
Lowry says that she considers her paintings a modern extension of storytelling and a way of recording the oral histories of her family and community.
Complementing her retrospective exhibition is the debut of the Lowry & Croul Collection of Contemporary Native American Art, which includes 125 artworks assembled by Lowry and her husband Brad Croul, which are a major gift to the Museum.
The collection features artworks by some of the West Coast’s most notable Native American artists including Harry Fonseca, Frank LaPena, Frank Day, Dalbert Castro, Jean LaMarr and Lowry’s cousin Dugan Agular.
Together, these exhibitions create a dialogue between past, present, and future Indigenous perspectives.
Lowry said she selected the art in the Lowry & Croul Collection based on personal stories that reflect contemporary Native experiences, “I like to be inspired, and I marvel sometimes at art and artists. Sometimes I can’t imagine myself doing it, but say, ‘wow,’ that’s something.”
The donated collection is a celebration of the stories that matter most to Lowry – those that come from her cultural heritage and reflective of the present-day experiences of Native communities.
Through her donation to the Museum, Lowry hopes to share these important works with a wider audience, particularly in an art museum located near her ancestral homelands.
The Lowry & Croul Collection stands as a testament to the strength and creativity of Indigenous artists and serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of preserving and honoring these stories.
Lowry’s own paintings are included in major museum collections across the United States, including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, the Peabody Essex Museum, the Crocker Art Museum, the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, the Denver Art Museum, and the Nevada Museum of Art.
For more information about Judith Lowry’s retrospective click here and head over to the Nevada Museum of Art website.
