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JEFF LOWE
WHITFORD F I N E A R T 6 DUKE STREET ST. JAMES’S LONDON SW1Y 6BN TEL.+44(0)20 7930 9332 info@whitfordfineart.com w w w. w h i t f o r d f i n e a r t . c o m
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JEFF LOWE Sculptures 1980–1982
13 September – 4 October 2013
All Works are for Sale
WHITFORD F I N E A R T
6 DUKE STREET ST. JAMES’S LONDON SW1Y 6BN TEL. +44 (0)20 7930 9332 EMAIL info@whitfordfineart.com
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Jeff Lowe in his studio, London, 1981
Front cover: Porgaga, 1981 – cat. no. 3 (detail) Contents page: The Artist’s Studio, 1982
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JEFF LOWE, Sculptures 1980–1982
During the early eighties a succession of lorries from the British Steel Corporation arrived at the studio Jeff Lowe, then in his late twenties, had newly built for himself in Charlton, south-east London. They deposited around fifty tonnes of steel in the yard, where it lay in large piles ‘like bonfires.’ The steel originated from mistakes in the production line of the BSC’s Rotherham factory. Toward the end of the process large ingots of steel would be melted in order to be fed through a die which would form them into the required shape. At times, an ingot would miss the die, and then, red hot, would dramatically and often dangerously distort in mid-air, before rapidly cooling and solidifying. The steel that resulted was unique and bent in unpredictable ways – difficult, even impossible, to recreate using conventional means. Its character was somewhere between the organic and the industrial, retaining a memory of the fluidity of its molten state or suggesting the curves of treetrunks. Often physically massive, it could also form sinuous lines, with a sense of strength that belied its relative thinness. The uncontrolled manner in which the material was exposed to the air meant variety of shape was matched by variety of texture. The sculptures made from this steel were first shown in two successful exhibitions at the Nicola Jacobs Gallery in 1981 and 1982. Lowe already had a promising career, exhibiting widely since holding his first solo exhibition whilst still a student at St Martin’s School of Art. In 1975 he exhibited two large steel sculptures at the 9e Biennale de Paris, typical of his early work in their size, neutral facture and architectural stance; the same year, William Tucker, his tutor at St Martin’s, selected him for the important survey The Condition of Sculpture. In 1978 he had a solo exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery, showing sculptures which set carved stone against thin lengths of steel bar that had been welded together to take on a naturalistic appearance, branching like twigs or veins. Following these was a series – shown at the 1979 Hayward Annual – improvised from large lumps of clay; the BSC steel sculptures resulted from a desire to broaden the experience of an improvised approach to volume and mass in sculptures made solely with steel, but without a restriction to the commercially available elements of bar or plate or to ‘found objects’ such as industrial components, agricultural machinery or artisan tools. Throughout the history of constructed steel sculpture, artists have worked in response to a particular source of material. David Smith, one of the central figures in the tradition, spent thirty days in 1963 creating twenty-seven sculptures using what he could find in an abandoned welding factory in the Genoese town of Voltri. In 1972 Anthony Caro, widely seen
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as Smith’s successor, worked at Veduggio near Milan, making sculpture which exploited a stock of thin, rusted and broken-edged steel from a local scrap-yard. With what appears a mixture of practicality, companionship, art-historical positioning and perhaps mysticism, after Smith’s premature death in 1965, Caro acquired a large quantity of steel from the estate for incorporation into his own sculpture. In an interview published in the Hayward Annual catalogue Lowe stated that it was not sufficient to ‘chop up a piece... add and subtract [until] you have arrived at a unique object that looks interesting’. Rather: ‘it is having an idea and expressing it which makes sculpture. Unless the maker is an artist, which means he has something to say, it all falls apart.’ I think we can expand: working with a particular source of material is not a matter of letting it dictate to you but instead a reciprocal process. Material is selected to conform to a particular vision – beginning with an intuition about the nature or possibility of sculpture but aiming to transcend the restrictedly formal. As the material is worked with it modifies the idea, feeding-back into the next selection of material, and so extending the sculptor’s experience of his medium and his ability to handle its expressive range. At the centre of this body of work, and expressed through it, is a conception of sculpture as object. This idea (or this linked set of sculptural possibilities) gave Lowe a particular position in relation to the work of Smith and Caro; without rejecting their work, indeed drawing on much of their language, he incorporated aesthetic attitudes antithetical to theirs. For Smith and Caro, continuing the experiments of Picasso and Gonzalez earlier in the century, sculpture was explicitly not object. Their work privileged an improvised openness over securely defined contour, the denial of weight over the articulation of mass, and the extension of parts through space over closed or occupied volume. Though it recalls the ancient obduracy of standing stones or monoliths, sculpture as object within modern sculpture had its roots in Rodin. It found its fullest expression in the sculpture of Brancusi, and was an important constituent of the New Generation sculpture made in Britain in the sixties, particularly within the work of Philip King and Tucker. The latter’s 1976 book The Language of Sculpture asserted that sculpture as object was a lineage as valid as that stemming from Picasso-Gonzalez-Smith-Caro, and implicitly distinguished its sense of ‘objecthood’ from that of minimalist sculpture. For Tucker, in part quoting Rilke, ‘object’ implied a work of art ‘isolated from the spectator as through a non-conducting vacuum... an ideal condition of self-contained, self-generating apartness... with its own rules, its own order, its own materials, independent of its maker, of its audience and of the world in general.’ What is austere and remote in this description
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is tempered in Tucker’s writing by a valuing of the unostentatious as well as a stress on the humanly-scaled and on structure resulting from the clear, pragmatic craftsmanship of the factory or the workshop. Lowe’s own merging of the otherworldly with the direct and matter-of-fact is most apparent in the cropping that is a feature of all the sculptures. With an industrial scale band-saw he began by cutting intriguing sections from the steel delivered by BSC, with more complex forms made with a profile-cutter. After these had been welded together – into small dense clusters, larger configurations, or near complete sculptures – Lowe would use the band-saw to cut across a number of different parts. The process was a complex and fast-moving one, exploiting the variety of tools and machinery offered by his new studio, with as many as seven or eight sculptures being worked upon at any one time. At times the band-saw’s cuts emphasize the fact that the parts are joined together by making them constituent elements of a single sheer surface; elsewhere a set of loosely entwined lines are abruptly terminated. The band-saw’s cuts have a sense of neutrality, a distance both from the particular curves of the steel and from any sense of the activity of the hand. Each of the cuts is emphatic, certain, but this decisiveness brings its own productive ambiguity. The suggestion of an extension beyond the sculpture’s limits paradoxically enforces these limits, creating a surface – both actual and illusionistic, made of steel and made of space – that is tensed between expansion and contraction. Within the volume defined by this surface the pieces of steel delivered by BSC are no longer randomly produced lumps of stuff but become animated or at least locked into a kind of stasis, as sets of formal relations based upon but overcoming the material from which they are formed. Samuel Cornish, July 2013
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1.
Aru Iya
2.
Oba
3.
Porgaga
4.
Kanaga
5.
Janus
6.
Janus II
7.
Janus IV
8.
Janus V
9.
Janus VI
10.
WORKS
Juno
All works are stamped and dated
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1. Aru Iya 1980 Mild steel, zinc coated and painted 80 x 54 x 45 cm EXHIBITED: 1981, Jeff Lowe: New Sculpture, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London LITERATURE: Jeff Lowe: New Sculpture, exhibition catalogue, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London, 1981, cat. no. 5, ill.
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2. Oba 1980 Mild steel, zinc coated and painted 150 x 68 x 55 cm EXHIBITED: 1981, Jeff Lowe: New Sculpture, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London LITERATURE: Jeff Lowe: New Sculpture, exhibition catalogue, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London,1981, cat. no. 1, ill.
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3. Porgaga 1981 Mild steel, zinc coated and painted 84 x 61 x 51 cm EXHIBITED: 1982, Jeff Lowe: Sculptures 1981, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London 1985, Victoria Munroe Gallery, New York 1990, Philippe Staib Gallery, New York LITERATURE: Jeff Lowe: Sculptures 1981, exhibition catalogue, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London, 1982, cat. no. 6, ill.
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4. Kanaga 1981 Mild steel, zinc coated and painted 170 x 46 x 33 cm EXHIBITED: 1982, Jeff Lowe: Sculptures 1981, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London 1982, Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury 1983, Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia 1986, Rossmore Sculpture Park, Sydney, Australia LITERATURE: Jeff Lowe: Sculpture 1981, exhibition catalogue, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London, 1982, cat. no. 8, ill.
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5. Janus 1982 Mild steel, zinc coated and painted 145 x 57 x 38 cm PROVENANCE: Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
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6. Janus II 1982 Mild steel, zinc coated and painted 111 x 38 x 23 cm PROVENANCE: Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
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7. Janus IV 1982 Mild steel, zinc coated and painted 146 x 64 x 40 cm PROVENANCE: Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
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8. Janus V 1982 Mild steel, zinc coated and painted 118 x 43 x 24 cm PROVENANCE: Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
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9. Janus VI 1982 Mild steel, zinc coated and painted 190 x 87 x 44 cm PROVENANCE: Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
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10. Juno 1982 Mild steel, zinc coated and painted 117 x 50.8 x 55.9 cm PROVENANCE: Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London EXHIBITED:
1986, Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia 1986, Rossmore Sculpture Park, Sydney, Australia
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BIOGRAPHY 1952
Born, Lancashire
1971-75 St. Martinʼs School of Art 1970-71 Leicester College of Art Lives and works in London and Portugal AWARDS/RESIDENCES 1994
Short-listed for Hakoni Prize, Japan
1993
Pollock-Krasner Award, New York, USA
1978
Artist in residence, Prahran College, Melbourne, Australia
1977
Artist in residence, Mermer Stone Quarry, Serbia
1976
GLAA Award
1975
Sainsbury Award
SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2012
ArtCatto Gallery, Loulé, Portugal
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, USA
2007
Drawn Out: Sculpture & Drawing, Whitecross Gallery, London The Paper Flag Series, Robert Steele Gallery, New York, USA
2006
Sculpture and Drawings, No. 6 Havelock Walk, London
2005
Sculpture Commission for Chinese Government, Beijing, China
12 x 12, Guild House, South Bermondsey, London Robert Steele Gallery, New York, USA 2004
Recent Sculpture, No. 6 Havelock Walk, London
2003
Robert Steele Gallery, New York, USA
2002
Galeria Convento Espirito Santo, Loule, Portugal
Recent Sculpture, Quinta do Louredo, Portugal
Gallery 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
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Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London 1983
Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1982
Jeff Lowe: Sculptures 1981, Nicolas Jacobs Gallery, London
1981
Jeff Lowe: New Sculpture, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1978
Serpentine Gallery, London
1977
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
1974
Leicester Galleries, London
GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2013
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2012
Small is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery, London Sculptorsʼ Drawings and Works on Paper, Pangolin Gallery, London Culture, HAC, Harrow Art To Dance with Mayuri Boonham, Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton
2011/12 Small is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery, London
United Enemies, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds 2011/13 Westminster: City of Sculpture, Berkeley Square, London Olympics 2011/12 2011
London Group Open Exhibition 2011, 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 Uncaught Hares, Stephen Lawrence Gallery and Clifford Chance Gallery, London
2010/11 COLECTIVA, Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal 2010
The London Group Annual Exhibition 2010, The Cello Factory, London, UK
2008
Journeys, Sidney Cooper Gallery, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, UK
2008
Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
2007
Summer Show, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2006
Robert Steele Gallery, New York, USA
Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
Sculptors Drawings, Vale do Lobo Art Gallery, Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal Defined Art Limited, Surrey, UK Vale do Lobo, Almancil, Portugal 2005
In memory of Volker, Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal Summer Show, Royal Academy of Arts, London 1979, Bloomberg SPACE, London
2004
Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
2003
Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
Robert Steele Gallery, New York, USA Vale do Lobo, Almancil, Portugal Gallery Josine Bockhoven, Amsterdam, Holland Robert Steele Gallery, New York, USA
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2002
Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal Vale do Lobo, Almancil, Portugal Robert Steele Gallery, New York, USA
Interim, Gallery Josine Bockhoven, Amsterdam, Holland Free Choice, Gallery Josine Bockhoven, Amsterdam, Holland Art in the Landscape, Gallery Saam, Oss, Holland Kunstrai 2002, Gallery Josine Bockhoven, Amsterdam, Holland Statement Stand, Guggenheim, Venice, Italy 2001
Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal Vale do Lobo, Almancil, Portugal
2000
Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal Vale do Lobo, Almancil, Portugal
1999
Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal Vale do Lobo, Almancil, Portugal
1998
Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal Hunts Point Sculpture Park, New York, 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, Galleria Josine Bockhoven, Amsterdam, Holland Jacques Caplan Sculpture Garden, Kent CT, USA Philip Staib Gallery, New York, USA Lineart, Gent, Belgium Maak Gallery, London 1991
Hunts Point Sculpture Park, New York, USA Gallery Josine Bockhoven, Amsterdam, Holland Galleria Internacional de Arte, Centro Cultural São Lourenço, Faro, Portugal
ICAF, Austin Desmond Gallery, London 1990
The National Gallery, Melbourne, Australia Galleria Internacional de Arte, Faro, Portugal Philip Staib Gallery, New York, USA
1989
Galeria Internacional de Arte, Faro, Portugal
1988
Waddington and Shiell Gallery, Toronto, Canada
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Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London 1987
Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
1986
Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
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 Sculptors Drawings, Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham Sculpture, Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury 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)
1980
Sculpture, Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1979
Style in the Seventies, selected by Ben Jones (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 Queen Elizabeth始s Silver Jubilee Exhibition in Microcosm, Redfern Gallery, London Queen Elizabeth始s Silver Jubilee Exhibition, Battersea Park, London
1975
Sculpture at Greenwich, Outdoor Sculpture, Greenwich, London The Condition of Sculpture, Hayward Gallery, London 9e Biennale de Paris, Mus茅e D始art Moderne, Paris, France
1974
New Contemporaries, Camden Arts Centre, London Six Sculptors, Chelsea Gallery, London British Sculptors-Attitudes to Drawing, Sunderland Arts Centre, Australia
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All artworks © Whitford Fine Art Text © Samuel Cornish Edited by An Jo Fermon Curated by Gabriel Toso Photography of pp 2 and 6, cat. no. 4 and cat. no. 10, Carlos Granger Produced by Artmedia Press Ltd • London
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JEFF LOWE
WHITFORD F I N E A R T 6 DUKE STREET ST. JAMES’S LONDON SW1Y 6BN TEL.+44(0)20 7930 9332 info@whitfordfineart.com w w w. w h i t f o r d f i n e a r t . c o m