Nate Lowman

Born in 1979, Nate Lowman is a mixed-media and installation artist known for his appropriation of iconic pop-culture motifs. By drawing on diverse media as the source of these borrowed images, like old posters and record jackets, Lowman raises questions about the place and value of culture in contemporary society.

In Interview magazine, Lowman once said of the images he uses: "they’ve already been talked about, already been consumed. I’m just reopening them to get at that second, third, or fourth meaning.” After long using Pop-art-style bullet holes as his signature motif, he recently began incorporating smiley faces into his work--a reference, he has said, to the smiley face O.J. Simpson once used to sign a letter to his fans. The ubiquitous presence of the image in everyday life renders it at once meaningless and open to new associations. Lowman, who studied Fine Art at New York University, also frequently works as a curator.