EDUCATION
California Institute of the Arts, School of Art, M.F.A., 2010
Otis College of Art & Design, Special 5thProgram 1.5 year 2008
Carnegie Mellon University, Lighting Design, M.F.A., 1976
Emerson College, B.F.A. Theatre
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015 Dark Side of Her Broom, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Axis Mundi, D-301 Gallery, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, C
2009 Beyond Geometry, Lime Gallery, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020 What’s in Yr Queue? Straight Line Gallery Group Show Snowmass Co.
2020 West Wings Patterns of Power, Aspen Art Museum, Fellowship Presentation
2019 Converge, Beacon Arts Building, Los Angeles, CA
2014 Self-portrait Richmond, InLight Richmond, Richmond, VA
2013 Illuminating the Illuminati, Arte Laguna, Venice Arsenale, Venice, Italy
Translating Transitions #4, LA Art Show. Los Angeles, CA
2012 Contemporary Art Ruhr, Essen, German
Translating Transitions #3, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA
Cosmic Latte, RGB, CMYK?, KNOWLEDGES at Mount Wilson Observatory, LA, Ca.
West Wings Patterns of Power, Random Acts of Time, OCCMA, Santa Ana, CA, Curated by Bill Moreno
Here’s to the Ladies Who Lunch, Momentum, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA
2011 Translating Transitions #2, Glendale Art Temporary Exhib., Glendale, CA, Curated by Cletus Dalgslish-Schommer
Flag Stop Art, Los Angeles, CA, Curated by Tm Gratkowski
2011 Illuminating the Illuminati, Cult of the Ruins, UC Irvine, Curated by Flora Kao
2010 The Last Supper, The Big Light Show, Anderson Ranch, Aspen, CO, Curated by Barbara Bloemink and Paul Collins
Assemblage, Las Cienegas Projects, Los Angeles, CA, Curated by Steven Hull
Box Scheme, Actual Size, Los Angeles, CA, Curated by Ana Vejzovic Sharp
2009 ID 517, Distributed Gallery, Telic Arts Exchange, Los Angeles, CA, Curated by Sam Durant & Nancy Buchanan
Back in the Discourse, Main Gallery, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
2007 Selected Works, Bolsky Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA, Curator Karen Higa
Down the Rabbit Hole: An Exploration of Fantasy and Form, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA,
Curated by the Loyola Marymount Curatorial Group
Corpus Callosum, Bolsky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA,Otis College of Art and Design, Curated by Dana Duff
FELLOWSHIPS & RESIDENCIES
Aspen Art Museum 2019-2020
AWARDS
Lighting Designer of the Year, PSLN, 2005
Emmy Award for Outstanding Lighting for a Special or Miniseries, 1986
AUCTIONS AND COMMISSIONS
2018 HOORAY FOR RGB!!!, private collection, Aspen, CO,
2017 Artcrush, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO
2014 Artcrush, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO
LIVE THEATRICAL SHOW DESIGNS
Pope Benedict XVI, St. Josephs Seminary, NYC, 2008
Neil Diamond World Tour, 1980- 2018
Champions on Ice, 1985 - 2007
Star Trek:The Adventure, Hyde Park, United Kingdom 2002
Rock n’ roll Monsterfest Show, Universal Studios, Japan 2001
Universal Islands of Adventure, 3 projects on Lost Continent Island 1999
Titanic: The Movie Tour, United Kingdom 1999
Elvis: The Concert, Tour 1998
Harry Connick Jr. on Broadway, NYC 1990
Lido de Paris, Paris, France 1994
Al Janadriyya Festival, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Siegfried & Roy World Tour, Japan and U.S. 1989
Jubilee, Bally’s, Las Vegas, NV
Peter Pan, Mexico City, Mexico 1988
Into the Light, Broadway, NYC, (Laser Designer) 1986
VIDEO AND FILM PROJECTS
Burn the Floor, Japan, 2004
Disney Hall PBS Opening Gala, Los Angeles, CA, 2003
LA Opera Lighting Consultant taping of Faust & Nicholas & Alexandra, 2003
Inventing Flight Opening Ceremonies, WHIO, TV, 2003
Opening Ceremonies World Cup Cricket Games, Capetown South Africa, 2003
Saving Silverman, Diamond Concert Sequence, 2001
Goodwill Games, Figure Skating Opening Ceremonies, TNT 2000
Champions on Ice, TNT February/ TNT April 2000, 2001, 2002
Blue Suede Shoes, PBS Cleveland, San Jose Ballet 1997
Olympic & World Figure Skating Champions, TNT 1996
Halloween on Ice, TNT Nancy Kerrigan 1996
The Little Mermaid (pilot) - Disney Channel 1989
Lena Horne: A Lady & Her Music 1982
YO! MTV Laughs, MTV 1982
Kids Choice Awards, Nickelodeon 1988
Star Trek: The Adventure, Universal Studio 1988
MTV: New Year’s Eve Show /Poison/Richard Marx/Joe Cocker 1988
Overboard: Showtime Gallagher Special 1987
****Hello Again: CBS-TV Neil Diamond, Neil Diamond/ Stevie Wonder 1986
A Legend: Showtime Gallagher Special 1986
A Tribute To Martin Luther King Jr: Neil Diamond Segment 1986
Liz Story: Wyndham Hill Video 1985
Cyndi Lauper: Money Changes Everything 1984
Live and in Person: Chorus Line Anniversary Party 1983
The Jazz Singer: Concert Sequences 1979
****#1986 Emmy for Outstanding Lighting for a Special or Miniseries
PERFORMING ARTIST CLIENTS
Hoyt Axton Michael Feinstein Liza Minelli
Glen Campbell Janie Fricke Johnny Mathis
Vikki Carr Kenny G Lou Rawls
Harry Connick, Jr. Whitney Houston Debbie Reynolds
John Davidson Diahann & Vic Bette Midler
INDUSTRIAL & TELECONFERENCING CLIENTS
Anheuser-Busch International Fur Show
Apple Computer Ikegami Exhibit Booth NAB
Buick Milliken
Calvin Klein Epson Computer
Chicago Apparel Center Fashion Shows Nissan - An Evening at Carnegie Hall Nissan – Honolulu
Sony
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mike Boehm, “L.A. Art Show is taking a broad view of art,” LA Times, Sunday, January 26, 2913.
Steffie Nelson, “Seeing Stars: Knowledges Brought a New Form of Observation to Mount Wilson,” Pasadena Magazine, August 2012, 77-80.
Jonathan Griffin, “KNOWLEDGES at Mount Wilson Observatory,” FriezeMagazine, online July 6, 2012.
Aparna Bakhle-Ellis, “Cosmic Knowledges: Site-Specific Art at Mount Wilson
Observatory,”Fabrik Magazine, Issue 17, Summer 2012, 76-85.
Armando Aceves, “KNOWLEDGES Exhibit to Explore New Frontiers Around Mount Wilson Observatory This Weekend,” 89.3 KPCC, Jun 23, 2012.
Margaret Wappler, “Astral Oriented Art Installations Expand 'Knowledges' at Mt. Wilson Observatory,” KCET Artbound, June 22, 2012.
Christine N. Ziemba, “CalArts Alumni, Faculty Make Art at Mount Wilson Observatory this Weekend,” 24700 Blog, June 22, 2012.
Shana Nys Dambrot, “Knowledges Is Power,” LA Weekly, Jun 21 2012, 27.
Catherine Wagley, “Five Artsy Things to Do This Week,” LA Weekly, June 20, 2012, 34.
CalArts Magazine, cover feature, Winter 2011.
Amy Slingerland, “Bold Steps”,Lighting Dimension, March/1998. Lowey brings moving-light technology to Cleveland San Jose Ballet
Catherine McHugh, “Well rounded”, Lighting Dimensions, January /February 1997
Neil Diamond in the Round.
Karl Ruling, TCI “Lido Parts”, May 1995 A new design team takes the famous cabaret show into the 21stcentury.
Karl Ruling, TCI “George Lucas’ Superlive Adventure”, November 1993.
Ronn Smith, “A company of her own”, Lighting Dimension”, March/April 1987.
Lowey on concerts, broadway, lasers, industrials, and working.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Marilyn Lowey creates installations that investigate sculptural geometric light forms. By using the conventions of lighting she generates three dimensional forms on two dimensional surfaces. A viewer’s perception is thus confounded. Do the eyes tell the brain what it sees, or does the brain instruct the eyes?
Lowey also explores working with LED linear tubes that function like a TV screen. The study of ambiguous images and illusions has revealed that the brain’s perceptual network actively attempts to make sense of its input. This work focuses on conflating the order in which we absorb visual information. The image maneuvers figurative against abstraction, and light against shadow.
Lowey created a study using the iconic painting The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. The viewer walks into a room with a rectangular area that is illuminated. The title card on the wall states Lowey reproduced the lighting design from the painting. My first goal was to assess if the viewer would visualize the painting’s image in their mind? Would the viewer construct new meaning from the work with the light as a guiding force? Lowey’s study posed many questions that required answers.
Another installation of Lowey’s is Illuminating the Illuminati. In Illuminating the Illuminati, a re-creation of the lighting for Pope Benedict which Lowey had personally designed in NYC 2008, invites the viewer to bathe in the spiritual light and access what is otherwise invisible and typically inaccessible. The work is both an investigation of the connections between light and illusion, and offers an environment in which the viewer can access something typically off limits to them, and only accessible to those with “godly powers”.
Lowey’s first solo show, “The Dark Side of Her Broom” weaves a heart felt, tongue and cheek narrative to the artist’s mother. The show explored self, illusion and abstraction to understand what can occur in a grieving state, when religion plays a sublime role for a parent’s loss. Lowey draws from her experience of working with Siegfriend & Roy the Illusionists to enhance some “Mise en Scene”, theatrical visuals in the show.
Since Lowey started working with glass she felt an affinity which prodded her into further exploration. Over the next two-years she developed a process of breaking tempered glass and freezing it in epoxy. She experimented with many formulas before finalizing the one that allowed her to successfully print on the glass with a UV flat-bed printer. With that process she was able to create her own narratives; Something very different for Lowey and transitioned from her light work to two dimensional surfaces.
I find that being an artist is a solo sport. I engage in my artistic practice as I ran my lighting design business. I am totally disciplined but I do miss artistic exchanges. Studio visits will be more frequent and spontaneous, and living/working in close proximity to the museum and its multiple resources are a blessing. I do also have many skills to offer ranging from a high EQ to the technical ability to fabricating a light bulb. In case someone requires help with their bulb!