Traces & Forgettings

Traces & Forgettings is a recent solo exhibition by artist Alexandra Lown, who is currently and undergrad majoring in Studio Arts. I first admired Lown's works when I saw them displayed in the painting studio at CSUS. The canvas I'd seen were quiet still-lifes that evoke the interior or living rooms and greenhouses. Based on the style and content I wondered if there might be a class that taught such a style. I figured I would get around to inquiring, but before I did inquire this show made its debut in R.W. Witt Gallery. 

During the artist reception I got a chance to speak with Ms. Lown and ask about her work and what inspired it. She told me she painted mostly ephemeral subjects culled from photographs, and the canvases themselves are composites from a number of photographs that she sourced from family collections. The images she creates contain a lot of her personal history and she contemplates a lot of the subjects depicted in her paintings, such as the wedding cake, and furniture from childhood.

Asked about her artistic influences Lown says she very much likes the work of Chinese-American artist Hung Liu, who is based in the Bay Area; and also Doris Salcedo is an artistic influence of Lown's. When I inquired about some of her favorite studies she tells me she enjoys critique and discussions about art.

I looking at Ms. Lown's work I think most viewers will relate to the atmosphere of home settings and and gatherings. Her paintings are very engaging and has a way of drawing the viewer in to participate and study the setting and details of her work.

Detail