Lowry is a visual artist living and working in Philadelphia. Using mixed media, she finds the practice of dismantling and assembling hybrid surfaces leads to unexpected outcomes. Drawing and painting are integrated with found and manipulated images. Her early work reflects the influence of Renaissance narrative painting, where time and events compress in a single frame. This theme of simultaneous this and that persists in her current practice. Sequence, framing, and context defy linear thinking. Lowry strives for a degree of awkwardness to heighten emotional or empathetic responses. Themes spring from an urge to find solace in memory, and experience while remaining anchored by a connection to place. Often, themes of abrupt change or gradual awareness are evident.
Lowry received her BFA from Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts), and her BA from Kirkland College (now Hamilton College). Her work is included in the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Woodmere Museum, and Aramark Corporation.
1977
Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
BFA, Painting
1975
Kirkland College, Clinton, NY
BA, Studio Art
Ballinglen Arts Foundation Fellowship, Ireland
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship Grant, Philadelphia, PA
Venture Fund Fellowship, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Artist in Residence, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Museum of Art Crafts Show Award for Excellence in Design, Philadelphia, PA
Artist in Residence, Artpark Summer Residency Program, Lewiston, NY
Artist in Residence, Sacred Heart Academy Teaching Residency, Chicago, IL
Western Savings Fund Award, Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
The Female Gaze, Women Artists Making Their World, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2012
Contemporary Philadelphia Artists, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1990
Good As Gold: Alternative Materials in American Jewelry, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 1981
Art Department Chair, Germantown Friends School, Philadelphia, PA
Upper School Art Faculty, Germantown Friends School, Foundation, Color & Design, 3D Design, Art History, Senior Studio
Senior Lecturer, Painting Department, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Fine Art Instructor, Architecture and Design Summer Program, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
1990
Susan Lowry and Sarah McIlhenny, Morris Gallery, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
1989
Janet Fleisher Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1985
Susan Chrysler White and Susan Lowry, Janet Fleisher Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1981
Marian Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2024
The Naked Show, InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2023
Cannibals of Love, Ejecta Projects, Carlisle, PA
2022
Woodmere Museum 80th Annual Juried Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA
Curators: Michelle Angela Ortiz and Jose Ortiz-Pagan
2018
Just In: Recent Acquisitions on Sculpture and Relief, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
2014
Selections from the Charles Knox Smith Collection, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
2012
The Female Gaze: Women Artists Making Their World, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
1995
Realm of Morpheus, Nexus Foundation, Philadelphia, PA
1993
Biennial, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE
1991
Visionary Healing, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE
1990
Contemporary Philadelphia Artists, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Jurors: Martha Chahroudi, Anne d’Harnoncourt, Marge Goldwater, Doug Hall, Phillip M. Johnston, Howardena Pindell, Allan Stone
1989
Challenge Exhibition, Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA
1986
21 Artists, Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY
