ALTON LOWE'S 32nd ANNUAL ART EXHIBITION

March 2001 Table of Contents

ALTON LOWE'S 32nd ANNUAL ART EXHIBITION

For Alton Lowe, March of each year, for the past thirty-two, has marked the culmination of a year's artistic effort. The selection of subjects, the intense study and fact gathering, choice of perspective and the quiet reflection needed to turn blank canvases and tubes of oil paints into glorious w exhibition. There, friends and patrons, visitors and art lovers, are treated to an event not easily forgotten. For each year, Mr Lowe surprises and delights his audience with paintings of an originality and qua no exception.

Colour explodes in these paintings. Whether it is paintings of Bahamian children in Junkanoo costume, a stately old home in Marsh Harbour, a boat pulled ashore in Green Turtle Cay, or a series of hibiscus and Cattleya orchids in luscious tones of pink, yellow, white, gold and burgundy, the viewer is overwhelmed with both the subtlety and richness of nature in The Bahamas. But there is still more to see, or rather see in the original. Mr Lowe presents five Bahamian orchids, four of which appear on Bahamian postage stamps issued during the Christmas holidays 2000. One orchid recently discovered remains unnamed.

Finally, to round out the exhibition, Mr Lowe has painted four "bush medicine" plants found in The Bahamas and known to generations of Bahamians. These are: Mexican poppy (for ringworm and hepatitis); Sea Ox-Eye (for malaria); Seaside Mahoe (for fevers); and Lantana (for chicken pox). These paintings will be reproduced on Bahamian postage stamps in 2002.

Born on Green Turtle Cay, Mr Lowe is a seventh generation Bahamian and was classically educated in art in Miami and New York City. He maintains his principle residence and a gallery on the cay. His interest in Bahamian history prompted him to found the Albert Lowe Museum at New Plymouth in 1976. This was followed several years later by the Loyalist Memorial Sculpture Garden. Ongoing cultural projects include lectures, concerts and theatre performances at his Garden Theatre adjacent to his home. Open house exhibits during May and December at his gallery next to his home attract hundreds of visitors and patrons every year.

>From 24th through 29th March the Nassau Beach Hotel will play host to Alton Lowe's 32nd annual one-man exhibition. This exhibition of paintings will be open to the public from 10 am to 7 pm daily. A special By Invitation Only preview takes place Friday evening, 23rd March.

March 2001 Table of Contents