{"id":6936,"date":"2026-10-20T11:37:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T16:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/?p=6936"},"modified":"2026-10-20T11:38:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T16:38:26","slug":"milwaukee-art-museum-presents-first-major-retrospective-of-hoocak-ho-chunk-artist-truman-lowe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/2026\/10\/milwaukee-art-museum-presents-first-major-retrospective-of-hoocak-ho-chunk-artist-truman-lowe\/","title":{"rendered":"Milwaukee Art Museum Presents First Major\u00a0Retrospective of Hooc\u0105k (Ho-Chunk) Artist Truman Lowe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Water\u2019s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe<\/em> brings nearly 50 works by the influential Wisconsin-born artist to Milwaukee this April.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Truman
Truman Lowe (Hooc\u0105k, 1944\u20132019), Canoe Form<\/em>, 1985\u201390. Peeled willow saplings and leather. 25 \u00d7 191 \u00d7 25 in. National Museum of the American Indian, 26\/9766, gift of John and Meryl Lipton Lavine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

MILWAUKEE, Wis.,\u2014 Oct 19, 2026\u2014<\/strong>The Milwaukee Art Museum will present Water\u2019s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe<\/em>, the first major retrospective of the acclaimed Hooc\u0105k (Ho-Chunk) artist Truman Lowe (1944\u20132019), from April 9 through Aug. 1, 2027<\/strong>. Organized by the Smithsonian\u2019s National Museum of the American Indian, the exhibition brings together nearly 50 sculptures, drawings, and paintings spanning Lowe\u2019s career, including rarely seen monumental works and significant loans from public and private collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following its presentation in Washington D.C., Water\u2019s Edge<\/em> comes to Wisconsin, where Lowe was born, educated, and taught for decades and where the waterways, woodlands, family experiences, and Hooc\u0105k cultural knowledge that informed his work were part of his everyday life. Born near Black River Falls, Lowe spent his formative years along the Black River before studying at the University of Wisconsin\u2013La Crosse and the University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison. He went on to teach sculpture at UW\u2013Madison for 35 years, mentoring generations of artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTruman Lowe was an extraordinary artist whose influence reaches far beyond Wisconsin, but its landscape remained fundamental to the way he saw and made art,\u201d said Kim Sajet, Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director of the Milwaukee Art Museum<\/strong>. \u201cBringing his first major retrospective to Wisconsin gives our audiences the opportunity to experience the full scope of his achievement in close relationship to the waterways, woodlands, and cultural knowledge that shaped his work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Known for elegant, minimalist sculpture, Lowe transformed willow saplings, wood, feathers, stone, and other materials into remarkably fluid forms. Waterfalls seem to cascade from solid wood; slender branches suggest streams, canoes, and Woodland structures. Across media, Lowe combined abstraction and recognizable form while drawing from Hooc\u0105k cultural knowledge, family memories and creative practices, and his lifelong experiences of Wisconsin\u2019s landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition is organized around four key themes Lowe returned to throughout his career: Moving Water, Woodland Structures, Memory and Knowledge, and Landscape and Place. Together, these themes illuminate the connections among Lowe\u2019s formal experimentation, his relationship to place, knowledge passed through his family, and generations of Hooc\u0105k presence in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLowe had an extraordinary ability to make familiar materials behave in unexpected ways,\u201d said Margaret Andera, senior curator of contemporary art at the Milwaukee Art Museum and hosting curator of the Milwaukee presentation<\/strong>. \u201cWood seems to flow like water, and an arrangement of willow can evoke the structure of a canoe or the movement of a stream. As visitors move through the exhibition, those formal innovations open onto a much larger story about family, memory, Hooc\u0105k cultural knowledge, and Lowe\u2019s enduring relationship with place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lowe\u2019s influence extended beyond his own studio. In addition to his decades as an educator and mentor, he served from 2000 to 2008 as the founding curator of contemporary art at the National Museum of the American Indian. There, he significantly expanded the museum\u2019s contemporary art collection and helped create greater visibility for contemporary Indigenous artists. Today, NMAI holds 40 works by Lowe, making the institution an important steward of the artist\u2019s work and legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Milwaukee Art Museum also has a longstanding relationship with Lowe\u2019s work and has collected his art since the 1990s. Among the works from the Museum\u2019s collection featured in Water\u2019s Edge<\/em> is his Inni-chi-ru-he (Stone Wall)<\/em> (1995), a monumental installation of chalk on paper and willow branches that stretches 23 feet across. Acquired by the Museum in 1997, the work is rarely exhibited because of its scale and fragility, making its inclusion in the retrospective a rare opportunity to experience one of Lowe\u2019s major works from the Museum\u2019s collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notably, the Milwaukee presentation will be shown beside Lake Michigan, placing Lowe\u2019s sustained exploration of water, landscape, memory, and place in direct relationship with the environment beyond the galleries. Visitors leaving the exhibition will encounter an expansive view of the lake, extending one of Lowe\u2019s most enduring subjects beyond the Museum walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Milwaukee Art Museum continues collaborating with its Native Initiatives Advisory Group and community partners, including the Ho-Chunk Nation Museum and Cultural Center, Native American Tourism of Wisconsin (NATOW), and HIR Wellness Institute, to inform programming and partnerships surrounding the exhibition and to create opportunities for Hooc\u0105k and Indigenous artists, cultural leaders, scholars, and community members to contribute perspectives to the exhibition experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A companion catalogue published in conjunction with the exhibition expands on Lowe\u2019s life, work, and influence through scholarly essays and reflections from fellow artists. Featuring more than 100 images, including lesser-known drawings and photographs of Lowe\u2019s family and studio, the publication offers new perspectives on his artistic practice and his impact as an artist, educator, curator, and mentor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water\u2019s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe<\/em> was organized by the Smithsonian\u2019s National Museum of the American Indian and curated by Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art Rebecca Head Trautmann. Leading support provided by Bank of America. Major support provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Generous support provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and Ameriprise Financial. Additional support provided by John Lavine and Meryl Lipton Lavine and Leslie A. Wheelock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more, visit mam.org\/waters-edge<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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About Truman Lowe<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As an artist, museum curator, university educator and mentor, Lowe influenced generations of emerging artists, scholars, and curators. He left an enduring legacy to the fields of American and Native North American art. An internationally exhibited artist, Lowe also taught sculpture for 35 years at the University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison and was the founding curator of contemporary art at the National Museum of the American Indian. While there, he significantly expanded the museum\u2019s contemporary art collection. In 2022, the University of Wisconsin\u2013La Crosse, his undergraduate alma mater, dedicated the Truman T. Lowe Center for the Arts, which houses the school of visual and performing arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Support<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Leadership sponsor<\/strong>
Milwaukee Art Museum\u2019s Friends of Art<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contributing sponsors<\/strong>
Thomas Hesselbrock and Carl Spatz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media sponsor<\/strong>
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Milwaukee Art Museum extends its sincere thanks to the Visionaries for their support of the exhibition program.<\/strong>
Debbie and Mark Attanasio
Donna and Donald Baumgartner
Murph Burke
Bill and Sandy Haack
Chris Harned and Elizabeth Quadracci Harned
The Helmerich Trust
Kenneth and Alice Kayser
Joan Lubar and John Crouch
Jeff and Gail Yabuki<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Visit<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Water\u2019s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe<\/em> is on view April 9\u2013August 1, 2027, in the Baker\/Rowland Galleries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Programming<\/strong>
April 8: Member Opening
April 9: Curator-led Gallery Talk
April 29: Expert Series
May 2: Studio Sunday
May 8: Slow Art Saturday
May 12: Present Music Concert
May 27: Curator-led Gallery Talk
May 28: Curator-led Gallery Talk
June 10: Curator-led Gallery Talk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admission<\/strong>
Adults: $27
Students, seniors (65+), military: $20
Kids 12 and under: Always free, thanks to an anonymous donor
Wisconsin K\u201312 teachers: Free with valid school ID or pay stub
Members: Free<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday Nights at MAM<\/strong>
Every Thursday, admission is pay-what-you-wish from 4 to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visiting with kids<\/strong>
Families can explore and create together with free gallery activities, including ArtPacks, SketchPacks, and opportunities to make art in the Art Studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Membership<\/strong>
Members enjoy free admission, exclusive programs, and special access throughout the year. Learn more at mam.org\/membership<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experience the Burke Brise Soleil<\/strong>
Designed by Santiago Calatrava, the Museum\u2019s iconic wings open daily with the Museum, close and reopen at noon, and close at 10 p.m. The wings are illuminated nightly from sundown to 10 p.m.; movement is weather permitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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About the Milwaukee Art Museum<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Milwaukee Art Museum is an essential destination for art and architecture and a vital cultural resource that connects visitors to dynamic art experiences and one another. Housed in iconic buildings by Santiago Calatrava, Eero Saarinen, and David Kahler on a 24-acre lakefront campus, the Museum is Wisconsin\u2019s largest art institution and home to both broad and deep collections, with exceptional holdings in American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts; conceptual and minimalist art; prints and drawings; European art from the Renaissance through the nineteenth century; photography and new media; modern and contemporary design; folk and self-taught art; and twentieth-century Haitian art. A bold symbol of Milwaukee\u2019s ambition and forward-thinking vision, the Museum is a place for community building, education, and celebration that fosters creativity, free speech, and critical discourse for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. For more information, visit mam.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Media Contact<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

For more information or to request hi-res images, please contact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cortney Heimerl<\/strong>
Milwaukee Art Museum
communications@mam.org<\/a>
414-940-0490<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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