55 Orchard Street, New York, New York 10002 212 989 5467 fax 212 989 5642
55 Orchard Street, New York, New York 10002 212 989 5467 fax 212 989 5642 |
Jean Lowe |
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Jean Lowe's new exhibition, The Loneliness Clinic, explores the intersection of psychiatry and mid-century modernist design. The installation includes all the furnishings and trappings that one might encounter in a psychiatrist’s office, beginning with the waiting room, with its magazine and pamphlet racks, Breuer chairs, and rubber plant. Upon close inspection, the viewer realizes that all the apparently weighty objects are handmade, enamel-painted papier-mâché replicas. In a similar moment of realization, the solid authority of the therapist's office dissolves into a web of humorous references including sham diplomas and credentials, bound volumes cataloging absurd disorders, and mega-store prescription drug bottles. This inner sanctum of healing contains Lowe’s rough-hewn versions of furnishings by Le Corbusier, Eames, Mies van der Rohe and George Nelson. The minimal, urbane, corporate authority of modern design contrasts with the personal dramas which one can imagine unfolding here. Stacks of tissue boxes and the doctor’s notes on yellow pads, again all hand-made, attest to overwrought confession and professional insight. Knick-knacks such as Greek vases and classical statuettes, usually meant to demonstrate good taste and worldliness, seem to poke fun at the supposed triumph of Western rationality and the authority of the classical education. As in all of her installations, Lowe uses humor to effectively question the consolidation and reinforcement of power as expressed in aesthetic styles and personal belongings.
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| Waiting Room: |
 Sugar Mommy, 2005 Enamel on papier-mâché 16 x 15 x 1/2 inches |
 Pharmacy Solutions, 2005 Enamel on papier-mâché 47 x 32 1/4 x 2 inches |
 Tissue Box Stacks, 2004 Enamel on papier-mâché Varying dimensions |
 Pfizer Flower Basket, 2004 Enamel on papier-mâché 14 1/2 x 18 x 15 1/2 inches |
 The Loneliness Clinic (Fall), 2004 Enamel on papier-mâché 19 1/4 x 18 1/4 x 1 1/8 inches |
| Office: |
 Large Bookcase, 2004 Enamel on papier-mâché 95 x 126 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches |
 Detail of Large Bookcase, 2004 Enamel on papier-mâché |
 Detail of Large Bookcase, 2004 Enamel on papier-mâché |
 George Nelson Sling Sofa with diplomas, 2004 Enamel on papier-mâché Sofa: 29 1/2 x 83 x 24 inches |
 DMV, 2004 Enamel on papier-mâché 24 1/4 x 32 x 2 1/2 inches |
 Curio Shelves, 2004 Enamel on papier-mâché |
 Detail of Curio Shelf, Large, 2004 Enamel on papier-mâché |
| Doctor's Notes: |
55 Orchard Street, New York, New York 10002 212 989 5467 fax 212 989 5642
email info@mckenziefineart.com |
