Interview with Holly Lowen: Entanglement at Simchowitz Gallery

Lowens' work examines how society suppresses passion and aggression, creating a fragile balance between aesthetics and chaos.

ArtDependence (AD): Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey towards where you are today?

Holly Lowen (HL): I’ve always been in love with art but I took a circuitous route to my studio practice. I studied art history and interior architecture in school and then worked designing public spaces in my first years in New York. With time off after having my son, I taught myself to draw in pen by copying a mix of old masters and contemporary art crushes, then expanded into pastel and oil paint. So I was self taught before starting my MFA last year at New York Academy of Art, which I will finish this spring. It’s been a wonderful place to develop a community and expand conceptually through critique.

AD: Your exhibition at Simchowitz focuses on tennis and flamingos, what fascinates you about these subjects and how has the response been so far?

HL: To me, tennis represents a very interesting dichotomy of social structure and primal underpinnings. Athletics are a way of allowing ourselves moments of emotional release and exertion, but with tennis specifically, the sport is contained in a very controlled social environment- hushed crowds, decorum and traditionally white clothing. I can extrapolate that as a metaphor for a lot of how we behave as humans within society. The through-line with the birds is that same interest in outward appearance versus instinctual behavior. There is an element to birds that is essentially unknowable - they look different enough from us that we can't anthropomorphize as easily as we do with other animals. Yet we relate to their visual preformative qualities. The tennis series feels more offensive and warlike, while the birds to me feel protective and defensive, a knot of necks (every animal's most vulnerable part). 

This is my first solo show. Stefan Simchowitz and I met last year through Instagram and it has been a very inspiring partnership for me. Since the opening, I'm so pleased with how people are reacting to the work. It's been great to hear people's psychological read, and sometimes their personal histories in relation to sport.  

Holly Lowen, Green tennis, 2024 Oil on linen

AD: Which artists do you look up to?

HL: For this series, I’ve been inspired by Pontormo and other Mannerists. It feels like an overlooked movement sometimes. I appreciate the inherent strangeness of the figural elongation and colors - I think we instinctively pick up on something unsettled in imagery that has been subtly altered. Historically, my all time favorites are Carravaggio, Degas, Walton Ford and many others. 

AD: What are your plans for the near future ?

HL: Lots of painting... I've started to work on larger some canvases and have a new series in mind. I plan to do some technical experimenting as well. In terms of shows, I will keep working with Simcowitz and I'll be showing work with Poulsen in Denmark this November.