Scott Livesey Galleries

Alfred Lowe

ALFRED LOWE

Born: 1996

Language: Arrente

Alfred Lowe is an Arrernte person from Snake Well in the Central Desert, north of Alice Springs. Alfred grew up in Alice Springs which is where he developed his interest in art, particularly ceramics and sculpture. Alfred started making ceramics in late 2021 at the APY Art Centre Collective's Art Centre in Adelaide.

Alfred Lowe explores identity, culture and relationship to country as a First Nations artist. Alfred is based in Adelaide working at the Art Centre operated by the APY Art Centre Collective. Alfred’s practice is primarily focused on ceramics and ﬁbre sculptures. Using these materials to explore themes of identity, land and the intersection of cultural practice and the modern world. Alfred’s interest in ﬁne art is heavily inﬂuenced by his upbringing in Central Australia.

Alfred’s interest in fine arts is heavily influenced and inspired by his upbringing. Late in his career, Clifford Possum was Alfred’s neighbour, and Alfred recalls standing on truck tyres to peer over the fence, watching Clifford paint for hours. He also lived opposite Araluen Arts and Cultural Precinct and spent a significant amount of time there as a child and teenager.

Central Australia is a politically and racially charged region and this can often lead to conﬂict in community, but Alice is also a region of immense beauty full of people with a deep love of community and the arts.

Alfred hand builds forms using the coil method, creating ﬁgurative sculptures and vessels, and applies underglazes and mark-making to the surface. The woven ﬁbre elements are created using techniques inﬂuenced by traditional cultural practices that have been adapted and expanded to create contemporary sculptures.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2026 Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne - CHARGED
2025 Sabbia Gallery, Sydney - After Party
2024 Sabbia Gallery, Sydney - The Gathering
2022 APY Gallery Melbourne - Code-Switch
2022 APY Gallery Adelaide, Adelaide - Yambah: Ceramics by Alfred Lowe

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2025 Art Gallery of South Australia Ramsay Art Prize
2025 Art Gallery of New South Wales Wynne Prize
2024 Miami Beach Albertz Benda at Untitled Art
2024 National Gallery of Australia, Canberra - Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia Carriageworks, Sydney Sydney Contemporary, Sabbia Gallery Booth
2024 John Curtin Gallery, Perth - IOTA24 Codes in Parallel
2023 Hugo Michell, Adelaide - Z Munu A Titutjara: Alfred Lowe with Zaachariaha Fielding ACE Open - PRIDE
2023 NGV at Melbourne Design Fair - Discovery
2023 Craft VIC - Jugs
2023 Sabbia Gallery, Sydney - The Adelaide Exhibition
2023 Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne
2022 Carriageworks, Sydney - Sydney Contemporary - Sabbia Gallery
2022 Shepparton Art Museum - Shepparton Art Museum Ceramics Award finalists exhibition
2022 Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory - NATSIAA Finalist 2022 Exhibition
2022 Festival Plaza, Adelaide - Festival Plaza Presents x JamFactory
2022 Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs - Clay on Country (Australian Ceramics Triennale)
2022 Jam Factory, Adelaide - Continuum
2022 APY Gallery, Sydney - Tjamuku -For the Grandfathers

COLLECTIONS

Art Gallery of South Australia
National Gallery of Australia
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM)
Artbank
Art Gallery of Ballarat

AWARDS

2025 Winner, Rigg Design Prize
2024 Winner, MA Art Prize, Sydney Contemporary
2024 Finalist, Shelley Simpson Ceramics Award, Mud Australia
2023 Finalist, Ramsay Prize
2022 Finalist, NATSIAA
2022 Finalist, Shepparton Art Museum Ceramics Award

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2025 Wallpaper Magazine, Stars Ascending

Alfred Lowe

Rigg Design Prize (2025) Winner, National Gallery of Victoria

installation image

The Aranda designer's winning work, a pair of giant clay vessels, speaks to the way we lean on each other in both good and bad times.
Using clay hand building techniques and raffia adornments, Lowe’s work 'You and me, us never part' is an ode to his Country and community.
‘You and me, us never part is a declaration of love to my community. These works stand side by side holding their own space while joining in communion. They embrace collectivism and reject the self-made… They stand as witnesses – celebrating, commemorating and holding each other accountable.’

Photographer: image courtesy, National Gallery of Victoria

Alfred Lowe

Ramsay Art Prize (2025) Finalist, Art Gallery of South Australia

installation image

Alfred Lowe’s practice, which is concerned with contemporary ways of navigating and manifesting identity and culture, is influenced by both the beautiful landscape of Central Australia, where he grew up, and its often-charged politics. These opposing ideals of beauty and pain fuel the artist’s exploration of what it means to exist simultaneously in two conflicting extremes. By using radically contrasting materials, textures and colours, Lowe explore what it means to exist outside binary ideals.

Alfred Lowe

Wynne Prize (2025) Finalist, Art Gallery of New South Wales

"Lone dancer" was the largest work made to date in Alfred Lowe’s ongoing series All dressed up, measuring 122 x 80 x 80 cm. A self-taught artist working through the APY Art Centre Collective’s Tarntanya/Adelaide studio, Lowe is interested in investigating themes of beauty and the human pursuit of perfection. His work compares idealised self-presentation to imperfections found in the natural world. ‘We try to present ourselves to the world as flawless, but when you look at the natural world like the mountains in Central Australia, it is the flaws that create beauty,’ explains Lowe.

Bold, colourful and unapologetically expressive, Lone dancer commands attention. Lowe considers the work to be joyfully defiant of perfection. ‘Its presence rejects expectations, ignores preconceptions and embraces joy,’ says Lowe. ‘You can love the work or hate the work, but you can’t ignore it.’ Black raffia, inspired by cultural adornments, spills from the centre of the work, reflecting Lowe’s interest in navigating culture and identity in contemporary contexts. This is his first time as a finalist in the Wynne Prize.

Alfred Lowe

Alfred Lowe

Rigg Design Prize (2025) Winner, National Gallery of Victoria

Alfred Lowe

Ramsay Art Prize (2025) Finalist, Art Gallery of South Australia

Alfred Lowe

Wynne Prize (2025) Finalist, Art Gallery of New South Wales

SUBSCRIBE

INSTAGRAM

HOURS

CONTACT