There is an honesty in the process of perceptual drawing that echoes the inherent struggle and searching nature of the content of my work. The assumed logic of the observable, the limitations of the hand, and the discrimination of the thought process when drawing yield variants that are somewhat unpredictable and often revealing in the manner in which they come together.

The figures depicted in my work, all taking some loose form of self-representation, seem to ask what it is to inhabit a body. Facets of corporeal, cerebral, and emotional identity are physically manifested in the drawings. Though contradictory in disposition, these elements demand to be addressed simultaneously and often result in visual discord. The haptic relationship of hand to subject, negotiated through the material, can elicit both tactile empathy and repulsion. I navigate this territory intuitively when working, seeking to arrive at an image that is both unflinchingly candid in physical representation and yet psychologically evasive. The figures exist in a state of conflict expressed in visual incongruities.

The drawings of multiple figures investigate complexities of relationships exemplified by instances of female intimacy and awkwardness, and are structurally derived from Renaissance "Visitation" themed paintings. Much like these earlier paintings, the potential exchange is suspended in the space existing between the figures. The figures‚ mutual understanding is held just out of reach and the sense of tension and mystery are calibrated visually by shape and proximity. A resolution can only be assumed and requires faith in the viewer's interpretation.

born:1978, Kansas City, MO

education:

Indiana University, MFA, 2006
Missouri State University, 2003

selected awards/honors

Americas 2011: Paperworks, Juror's Award, 2011
Mary R. Koch Award, Pastel National, Wichita Center for the Arts, 2011
Institute of Integrative Teaching Thinktank4, Emerging Educator's Fellowship, 2009
Klein Merit Award, National Society for Arts and Letters, Visual Arts Bloomington Chapter, 2006

selected solo or two-person exhibits

"Works on Paper", Curfman Gallery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, (scheduled 2011)
"Melanie Lowrance New Work", Anoka Ramsey Community College, Minneapolis, MN, 2011
"Works on Paper", Cecilia Bell Coker Gallery, Coker College, Hartsville, SC 2010

selected group shows

"Paperworks", TAG Gallery, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL, 2011
"Mothers", Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL 2011
"Woman Made", Target Gallery, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA 2010
"Over and Out", Elizabeth Laurence Contemporary Art Space, San Francisco, CA 2009