Your Place in the Multiverse: Jean Lowe Opens at USU's NEHMA

Utah State University’s Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art (NEHMA) is excited to present Your Place in the Multiverse: Jean Lowe, a survey of work by California-based artist Jean Lowe, known for her large-scale installations that revolve around the intersection of popular culture, environmentalism, commerce, politics and art history. The exhibition opens Saturday, June 19.

Lowe is an American pop/conceptual multimedia artist who creates work that is both entertaining and intellectual. Using wit and satire, she carefully and humorously unpacks the ironies and challenges of 21st-century culture.

Lowe often blends modern-day marketing and pop culture objects with references to European art, in particular the theatrical and ornamental aesthetics of German Baroque interiors and French Empire style. The resulting juxtaposition makes a visually striking and thought-provoking comparison.

“This is the first major exhibition of Lowe’s work in the 21st century that any museum has done,” said Bolton Colburn, curator of collections and exhibitions at NEHMA. “Her work spans the gap between high and low culture, addressing the difference between with humor, wit and irony. This show is friendly and will make you laugh—although you might end up feeling a bit uncomfortable about your carbon footprint as a consumer.”

With work dating from 2003–2021, Your Place in the Multiverse consists of ten separate installations primarily made of household craft materials, such as papier-mâché and paint, coupled with a sophisticated, literary use of language and a loose painterly style. Room-sized and incorporating artist-made rugs and furniture (including a baby grand piano crammed with snack foods and soda), these beautifully staged installations are often overwhelming, playing both on sensory overload and the irony of abundance presented daily in consumer culture.

“Lowe’s work is layered with various points of entry for viewers (hence the title ‘multiverse’),” said Katie Lee-Koven, executive director and chief curator of NEHMA. “As a museum that prides itself as an outlier, one which has always intentionally collected art that has been overlooked or lives on the fringes of mainstream modernism, we are pleased with this opportunity to give Jean Lowe a proper solo exhibition at NEHMA.”

Your Place in the Multiverse: Jean Lowe will be on view through December 12, 2021. An official reception and artist talk with Lowe are scheduled for later this year in September.

Visiting NEHMA

Please note that the museum has taken precautions to ensure a safe experience for all visitors and staff, including face masks, regular cleaning, encouraging social distance and limiting the total number of visitors to 50 people at a time.

Visiting the museum is free of charge. It is open Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Free visitor parking is offered in the lot behind the Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall. For public transportation, ride the Cache Valley Transit routes 1, 4, or the Green or Blue Loop and get off at the Fine Arts stop.

Currently, construction on 700 North is blocking the main road to NEHMA. Please note and follow the detour indicated by the signage and on the NEHMA website.