Artist statement

Many of my etchings have been influenced by my travels -- the different people, places and cultures have expanded my artistic vocabulary.  Cultural elements and historical reference gently probe my choices of composition, technique and printing when they interplay with elements of nature, textiles and decorative arts. I work to explore and exploit the unique qualities of etching on copper to further develop the image and to bring concept and process into balance.

With my move from an ultra urban setting to a pastoral river’s edge, my points of reference have changed. My recent works are studies of the nature that surrounds me. I am an artist not a biologist. Art and nature are bound together in my work through the elements of line, form, pattern, texture, light and shadow.

Aristotle said, “Art takes nature as its model”. My observations of nature happen within a small radius of my studio. I process what I see through drawing. I collect and press items. I record details that intrigue me. Focusing first on the smaller elements helps me to create a larger picture. In essence I am composing my personal river diary.

Mary Baranowski-Lowden

News

Winner of the 2015 Gordon J. Wood Print Purchase Prize
Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa, ON

Featured Artist, Canadian Museum of Nature Blog (July 17, 2015)
canadianmuseumofnature.wordpress.com/2015/07/17/need-inspiration-come-see-our-collections/

Upcoming exhibitions

January 8–February 6, 2016: Selected Works from the Print Sales Gallery
Open Studio, 410 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ON

August 10–October 31, 2016: 8th International Printmaking Biennial of Douro/8a Bienal Internacional de Gravura do Douro, Alijó, Portugal

Download Mary Baranowski-Lowden’s CV