Biography
Known for his large scale architecturally inspired works, Jeff Lowe's sculpture has demonstrated a continuous engagement with materials and making throughout his career. A student of 'The New Generation' of British sculptors that emerged in the 1960's, Lowe studied at the Saint Martin's School of Art between 1971-75, and was taught by many of the prominent sculptors of this time including William Tucker, Philip King and Anthony Caro.
Jeff Lowe came to prominence at the age of 21, whilst still a student at Saint Martin's, through his first solo exhibition at the prestigious Leicester Galleries in London's Cork Street in 1974, before going on to represent Britain at the Paris Biennale. He was awarded the Sainsbury Award in 1973, and the Pollock-Krasner in 1993.
Having lived in London and Portugal since the 1970’s, Lowe moved to The Limeworks in 2017. This converted concrete building and workshop in Faversham, Kent inspired Lowe to change his sculpture dramatically. Working with curvilinear sheets of aluminium, which incorporated openings, overlapping layers, and dramatic use of colour.
Working on these sculptures coincided with a desire to work with silkscreen printing to produce monoprints which have had a direct and influential relationship to his sculpture.
“Lowe has been working with circular compositions throughout his career and at no time more compellingly so than in these recent sculptures. Revealing themselves in the round - layer by layer, aperture by aperture – his sculptures work on the loop, carrying their viewers around them, while offering a sequentially revealed combination of image, object and experience. They invite us to think about foreground and distance, about things near and far, asking us to appreciate the ambiguities between them, as views are both afforded and partially obstructed. We might read these new sculptures as portals of sorts – not obdurate, monolithic objects, but nimble, multipartite ones, that offer imaginative ways into seeing things.” Jon Wood
"Jeff Lowe's sculpture and drawings speak the universal language of sculpture" William Tucker
Jeff Lowe has taught at Reading University; Canterbury College of Art, London and the advanced course at Central Saint Martins. His significant exhibitions include Hayward Gallery, London; Serpentine Gallery, London; Peggy Guggenheim, Venice; Ikon Gallery, Birmingham; Galerie Josine Bockhoven, Amsterdam; Robert Steele Gallery, New York; Bodo Niemann Gallery, Berlin; Musee D'art Moderne, France; The National Gallery of Australia; Henry Moore Institute, Leeds and Pangolin Gallery, London. Thirsk Sculpture Garden, Thirsk.
Lowe lives and works in Kent, and the Algarve, Portugal.
Lowe is a member of The London Group, Fellow of Royal Society of British Sculptors and a Fellow of The Royal Society for Arts.
Born in 1952, Lancashire, England
EDUCATION
1971-75 St. Martin's School of Art
1970-71 Leicester College of Art
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
Echoes, AKA Fine Art, Cambridge
2022
Sculpture Near Distance, Thirsk Hall Sculpture Park, Thirsk, UK
From the Outside In, Monier Works, London
Rock Paper Scissors, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
2021
Complecit, Dahai, London
2020
In the Close Distance, Pangolin London
2016
Object Lessons, Pangolin London
2015
Recent Sculpture, Ashby Space, London
2014
Recent Sculpture, Ashby Space, London
2013
Brought to Light, C&C Gallery, London
Looking for Sculpture, HAC, Harrow
Sculpture 1980-82, Whitford Fine Art, London
Recent Sculpture, Ashby Space, London
2011
Small Scale, Gallery 27 Cork Street, London
One-Man Show, Vale do Lobo Art Gallery, Algarve, Portugal
2010
Building Space: A Collection of Recent Sculpture, The Gallery in Cork Street, London
2009
Recent Sculptures and Drawings, Glynde House, London
2008
Drawn Out, Robert Steele Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2007
Drawn Out: Sculpture & Drawing, Whitecross Gallery, London
The Paper Flag Series, Robert Steele Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2006
Sculpture and Drawings, No. 6 Havelock Walk Gallery, London
12 x 12, Guild House, South Bermondsey, London
2005
Sculpture Commission for Chinese Government, Beijing, China
Robert Steele Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2004
Recent Sculpture, No. 6 Havelock Walk Gallery, London
Recent Sculpture, Quinta do Louredo, Algarve, Portugal
2003
Robert Steele Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2002
Galeria Convento Espirito Santo, Loule, Portugal
Galerie Saam, Amsterdam, Holland
2001
Galerias Municipais De Arte, Trem Gallery, Faro, Portugal
Havelock Gallery, London
1994
Austin Desmond, London
MAAK Gallery, London
1992
Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
Austin Desmond and Phipps, London
MAAK Gallery, London
1987
Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, Australia
1986
Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK
Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1983
Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1981
Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1978
Serpentine Gallery, London
1977
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
1974
Leicester Galleries, London
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
The London Group Open, Copeland Gallery, London
Linden Hall Studio Exhibition, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
LHS Collection 2023
The Alexander Centre, Faversham
2022/2023
Winter Group Show, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
2022
The London Group 2022, Bankside Gallery, London
Catch 22 Artists!, AKA Fine Art, Cambridge
Collaborations, Linden Hall & Goodnestone Park, Kent
RSA Annual Exhibition, The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
The Language of Abstraction, Fen Ditton Gallery, Cambridge
From the Outside In, Monier Works, 80 Monier Road, London
LHS Collection, Modern British Painting, Print & Sculpture, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
The Alexander Centre, Faversham
2021/2022
Winter Group Show, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
2021
Selected Prints, Whitford Fine Art, London
Christmas 2021, Pangolin London
Carving Colour, Pangolin London
Kettle’s Yard Fundraiser Exhibition, Kettles Yard, aka fine art, Cambridge, UK
Fine Art Summer Exhibition, Horningsea Pavilion, aka fine art, Cambridge, UK
LHS Collection, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
RSA Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture, Edinburgh
In Plain Sight, Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Devon
The 10 Gram Challenge, The London Group with Milwyn Casting Ltd, Surrey
The Alexander Centre, Faversham
2020/21
20th Century Sculptors’ Prints, Pangolin Gallery, London
Summer/Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Winter Group Show, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
2020
Outdoor Sculpture, Pangolin Gallery, London
The London Group Annual Exhibition, The Cello Factory, London
British Abstraction, Whitford Fine Art, London
The Great Art Escape, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
RSA Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture
2019/20
Winter Group Show, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
2019
December Frame Sale, Pangolin Gallery, London
The London Group Open Exhibition Part 1 & 2, The Cello Factory, London
No Particular Place to Go,? Castlefield Gallery, Manchester
Clyde Hopkins and friends, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
British Abstraction A Selection of Works form 1948 til Present Day, Whitford Fine Art, London
Overlap, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
2018/19
Drawing Distinctions, UW Stout Menomonie, WI, USA and The Cello Factory, London
Winter Group Show, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
2018
The London Group Christmas Exhibition, The Cello Factory, London
The London Group at St. Ives, Penwith Gallery, St. Ives
The London Deal, Linden Hall Gallery, The Building Centre, London
Decade, Pangolin, London
The London Group-Down from London, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
2017
Winter Group Show, Linden Hall Studio, Deal
Free Forms, John Hoyland and Jeff Lowe, Conrad Hotel, Algarve, Portugal
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Sculpture Trail, Pangolin, London
Spring Show, Pangolin, London
2016/17
Personal Relations (touring exhibition), The London Group, The Cello Factory, London, Pulchri Studio, The Hague, The Nederlands, The Mirror Gallery, Vincenza, Italy
Christmas Selected, Pangolin, London
2016
Summer Exhibition, Pangolin, London
Summer Exhibition 2016, Royal Academy of Arts
Sculpture in the Garden, Pangolin London
The London Group: The Deaf Canvas Listens, Kensington and Chelsea College, London
Sculptors' Prints and Drawings 2016, Pangolin Gloucestershire, UK
Spring Showcase 2016, Pangolin London
2015/16
Small is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery, London
2015
Erhebung (touring exhibition), The Lowry, Manchester
The British Art Fair with Whitford Fine Art, London
The London Group Open Exhibition Part 1 & 2, The Cello Factory, London
Whitford Fine Art, London
ArtCatto, Loulé, Portugal
Barford Sculptures Exhibition, Berloni Gallery, London
2014/15
Sculptors' Jewellery, Pangolin London
Small is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2014
London Art Book Fair Whitechapel, The London Group, Whitechapel Gallery, London
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
From David Bomberg to Paula Rego: The London Group in Southampton, Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton
Volker Huber the Man and his Life, Galeria de Arte do Convento do Espirito Santo, Loulé, Portugal
Whitford Fine Art, London
ArtCatto, Loulé, Portugal
Erhebung, Let’s Dance Festival, Leicester, UK, Bristol Harbour Festival, Bristol, UK, Alchemy Festival, Southbank Centre, London and Billingham Festival, Billingham, UK
2013/14
Small is Beautiful XXXI, Flowers Gallery, London
2013
Whitford Fine Art, London
+100 The London Group, The Cello Factory, London
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
The Centenary Open, The London Group, The Cello Factory, London
Paisnel Gallery, London
ArtCatto, Loulé, Portugal
Erhebung (touring exhibition), RichMix, Shoreditch, Great North Museum, Newcastle, Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, UK and The Ivy Centre, Surrey, UK
2012/13
Small is Beautiful XXX, Flowers Gallery, London
2012
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Sculptors’ Drawings and Works on Paper, Pangolin Gallery, London
Culture, HAC, Harrow, UK
Art to Dance with Mayuri Boonham, Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton, UK
2011/13
Westminster: City of Sculpture, Berkeley Square, London (Olympics 2011/12)
2011/12
Small is Beautiful XXIV, Flowers Gallery, London
United Enemies: Sculpture in the 1960s and 70s, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, UK
2011
The London Group Open Exhibition 2011, The Cello Factory, London
Nord Art 2011, Nord Art, Kunstwerk Carlshütte, Büdelsdorf, Germany
A Decade of Sculpture in the Garden, Harold Martin Botanic Gardens University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Uncaught Hares, Stephen Lawrence Gallery and Clifford Chance Gallery, London
2010/11
COLECTIVA, Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Portugal
2010
The London Group Annual Exhibition 2010, The Cello Factory, London
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2008
Journeys, Sidney Cooper Gallery, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, UK
Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
2007
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
2006
Robert Steele Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
Defined Art Limited, Surrey, UK
2005
Sculptors Drawings, Vale do Lobo Art Gallery, Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Portugal
Defined Art Limited, Surrey, UK
In memory of Volker, Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
1979, Bloomberg SPACE, London
Robert Steele Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2004
Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
Robert Steele Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2003
Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
Vale do Lobo, Almancil, Portugal
Galerie Josine Bockhoven, Amsterdam, Holland
Robert Steele Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2002
Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
Vale do Lobo, Algarve, Portugal
Robert Steele Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Interim, Galerie Josine Bockhoven, Amsterdam, Holland
Free Choice, Galerie Josine Bockhoven, Amsterdam, Holland
Art in the Landscape, Galerie Saam, Oss, Holland
Kunstrai 2002, Galerie Josine Bockhoven, Amsterdam, Holland
Thinking Big: Concepts for the Twenty-First Century British Sculpture, (Statement Stand), Guggenheim, Venice, Italy
2001
Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
Vale do Lobo, Algarve, Portugal
2000
Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
Vale do Lobo, Algarve, Portugal
1999
Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
Vale do Lobo, Algarve, Portugal
1998
Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
Hunts Point Sculpture Park, Bronx, NY, USA
1997
Galleria Convento Espirito Santo, Loule, Portugal
1996
Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
1995
Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
Contemporary Sculpture, Collyer Bristow Gallery, London
1994
Cologne Art Fair, (represented by MAAK Gallery, London and Bodo Niemann Gallery, Berlin, Germany)
British Drawing, ISIS Gallery, London
Lead and Follow, Atlantis Gallery, London
1992
British Art Fair, London
The Spirit of Modernism, Austin Desmond and Phipps, London
Painting and Sculpture, MAAK Gallery, London
First Choice, Galerie Josine Bockhoven, Amsterdam, Holland
Jacques Caplan Sculpture Garden, Kent, CT, USA
Philip Staib Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Lineart, Gent, Belgium
MAAK Gallery, London
1991
Hunts Point Sculpture Park, Bronx, NY, USA
Galerie Josine Bockhoven, Amsterdam, Holland
Galleria Internacional de Arte, Centro Cultural, São Lourenço, Portugal
ICAF, Austin Desmond Gallery, London
1990
The National Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Galleria Internacional de Arte, Portugal
Philip Staib Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1989
Galeria Internacional de Arte, Faro, Portugal
1988
Waddington and Shiell Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1987
Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1986
Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1985
Gallery A, Sydney Australia
Studio Visits, Victoria Munroe Gallery, London
1984
Summer Exhibition, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1983
Collaboration, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
1982
The South Bank Show, South London Art Gallery, London
Jeff Lowe, John McLean, Mali Morris, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
Hayward Annual, Hayward Gallery, London
Sculpture at the Park, Cheltenham, UK
Sculptors Drawings, Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham, UK
Sculpture, Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, UK
Contemporary Choice, Serpentine Gallery, London
1981
Summer Exhibition, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1980
Nature as Material, Arts Council of Great Britain Purchase Exhibition (Touring Exhibition)
Sculpture, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1979
Style in the Seventies, selected by Ben Jones, Artscribe Touring Exhibition
Hayward Annual, Hayward Gallery, London
The First Exhibition, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1978
Spring Show, Serpentine Gallery, London
New Sculpture, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham
Certain Traditions, (British Council Touring Exhibition), Canada and England
1977
Painters, Sculptors-Drawing, Greenwich Theatre Gallery, London
Silver Jubilee Exhibition in Microcosm, Redfern Gallery, London
Silver Jubilee Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture, Battersea Park, London
1975
Sculpture at Greenwich, Outdoor Sculpture, London
The Condition of Sculpture, Hayward Gallery, London
9e Biennale de Paris, Musée D’art Moderne, Paris, France
1974
New Contemporaries, Camden Arts Centre, London
Six Sculptors, Chelsea Gallery, London
British Sculptors-Attitudes to Drawing, Sunderland Arts Centre, England
COLLECTIONS
Leicester Education Authority, North West Arts Association, Arts Council of Great Britain, Contemporary Arts Society, Government Art Collection, Channel 4 Television, Hunterian Art Gallery, Atkinson Gallery Collection, Vale do Lobo, Portugal, The National Gallery of Australia, Italian Palace of Justice, Sicily, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, Kasser Mochary Art Foundation, New Jersey, USA
AWARDS/RESIDENCES
Shortlisted for the Hakoni Prize, Japan (1994), Pollock-Krasner Award, New York, USA (1993), Artist in residence, Prahran College, Melbourne, Australia (1978), Artist in residence, Mermer Stone Quarry, Yugoslavia (1977), GLAA Award (1975)