We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brandon Lowery a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Brandon, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I first knew I wanted to pursue a artistic path professionally was my Sophomore year in college. I was taking a art history course and we started to discuss Jean-Michel Basquiat. I was so inspired by his work. Basquiat’s work had aggressive mark making and there was a freedom there. The moment I saw his work and felt the energy from it I knew I wanted to be an artist.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Brandon Lowery was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. He received his MFA from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 2016 with a concentration in ceramics. His work drifts between hyperrealism to abstract anthropomorphic forms. Brandon mainly works in clay but his sculptures utilize many different mediums. His forms instill a feeling of discomfort but draws the viewer closer with fine details and his color palette. This push and pull of uneasiness and discomfort mixed with the strangely beautiful goes hand and in hand with Brandon’s concept of social anxiety, finding a sense of place, and questioning societal norms. I mainly work in clay but a lot of my work is mixed media. One of the things that I am most proud of is creating three sculptures for a Freedom Summer memorial. I worked with two other artist and we created these beautiful metal tree sculptures with hand crafted metal dogwood flowers and chimes that would play a part of a song when the wind blows. Another thing that I am proud of is being part of a massive renovation of the ceramic studios that I run. The total project was over a quarter of a million dollars and we now have one of the best facilities for a community art center.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Being an adjunct instructor is difficult. The pay is not great and there is little job security. But, it is part of the process to gain experience and get a full time professor job. Since the pay was so low I had to work multiple jobs. I taught four classes at two different universities that were both an hour commute. I also was the ceramic coordinator at a community art center. Having three jobs was exhausting and overwhelming. I was starting to burn out when the art center I worked for made my position full time. This was a great feeling. My hard work and dedication is starting to pay off and be recognized.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The best thing society can do to support artist is to shop local/handmaid products. A lot of people shop at big box stores for cheaply made things when they could be helping out an artist making beautiful work. Another way people can support artist is going to their shows and sharing their work. The art world is full of gatekeepers and the more eyes on your work the better.

Contact Info:

• Website: brandonlowery.com
• Instagram: the_blowery
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-lowery-14529089
• Youtube: mrlow22222