presented at the Wanamaker House | May 29 - August 5, 2024
Cover image: Susan Lowry, Maps for My DadDifferent Ways Home (detail)
Left: Susan Lowry Root Cellar, 2020 Ink, found media on Strathmore 33 x 27"
$2,400
In The Weight of Ash, artists Susan Lowry, Abbey Stace, and Christine Stoughton explore the essence of transformation and interconnectedness through otherwise uncontrolled spaces. Lowry’s mixed-media pieces reflect a Renaissance-inspired narrative, compressing time and events into a single frame, while embracing the tension between abrupt change and gradual connection. Stace’s practice, rooted in chance and interconnectedness, mirrors life’s serendipitous journey, inviting viewers to ponder the interdependence of nature and personal experience. Stoughton’s art, deeply influenced by Eastern philosophy and her background in psychology and experiences in motherhood, captures the ephemeral beauty of nature’s transformations, celebrating the delicate balance between fragility and resilience. Through their diverse approaches, these artists provide audiences with the space for introspection, where ambiguity and impermanence give way to profound moments of connection and contemplation.
SUSAN LOWRY
Working in mixed media affords opportunity dismantling and assembling hybrid surfaces leads to unexpected outcomes. Drawing and painting often serve as a foundation for seemingly discordant, manipulated images. Early work reflects the influence of Renaissance narrative painting, where time and events compress in a single frame. The theme of simultaneous this and that persists in her current practice. Sequence, framing, and context defy linear thinking. I strive 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.
A Rose, A Snail, A Conversation, 2020 Graphite, found media on Strathmore 33 x 27”
$2,200
Susan Lowry Plant Life Mutation, 2019 Graphite, found media on Strathmore 25 x 18.5”
$1,600
Opposite page (detail):
Susan Lowry
Plant Life: There/Here, 2012
Graphite, collage media on Strathmore 25 x 19”
$1,600
Right: Susan Lowry Plant Life Progeny, 2019
Graphite, printed media on paper 25 x 19”
$1,600
ABBEY STACE
Fundamental to my practice is the notion that the world is governed by chance. Inspired by concepts of indeterminacy and interconnectedness I encountered in physics and Buddhism, I have designed a practice based on luck. I begin paintings with only a basic composition. I observe how my chosen materials interact with each other as I engage with the textures, colors and shapes that emerge. For me this mirrors the serendipitous and integral process that is life.
I have designed my practice to be process-oriented because process is all there is. I am interested in how objects in the environment acquire and shed particular characteristics. How do people accrue and evolve personal traits? While these processes appear parallel, all of nature’s materials are interdependent and constantly interacting. My work considers time as the medium in which transformation occurs and friction as integral to the process.
Though inspired by natural materials and industrial decay, I avoid literal imagery. Ambiguity is fundamental to experience and these pieces often suggest multiple perspectives. I rely on abstraction because I do not want to impose a specific story, concept or object on the viewer. Rather they are invited to make their own associations in connection with a personal trove of memories and experiences. I want the viewer to reflect on their own connection to the interdependent processes that govern our relationships with each other and with nature.
Opposite page:
Abbey Stace
Imperative, 2024
Plastic, acrylic, oil, sand
14 x 14 x 2”
$650
Abbey Stace Fléche, 2021
Plastic, acrylic, oil
30 x 30 x 4”
$2,000
Right:
Abbey Stace
Secret Garden, 2023
Plaster, acrylic, oil
14 x 11 x 2”
$650
Left:
Abbey Stace
Acorns Cup, 2023
Plastic, acrylic, oil
36 x 48”
$3,600
Opposite page:
Abbey Stace
Amber Bridge 2, 2024
Plastic, acrylic, oil, sand
14 x 11 x 2”
$650
Abbey Stace
Amber Bridge, 2024
Plaster, acrylic, oil, sand
14 x 11 x 2”
$650
Opposite page:
Abbey Stace Salt and Sea, 2024
Plastic, acrylic, oil, sand
40 x 40”
$3,400
Abbey Stace Oggygia, 2024
Plastic, acrylic, oil, sand
40 x 40”
$3,400
Right: Abbey Stace Hour of Silence, 2024
Plaster, acrylic, oil
40 x 40”
$3,400
Left: Abbey Stace
Baren Rhyme, 2024
Plastic, acrylic, oil
40 x 40”
$3,400
Opposite page: Abbey Stace False Waters, 2023
Plastic, acrylic, oil
36 x 36”
$3,000
