Open Mind Art Space is pleased to present Illinois-based artist, Benjamin Lowder’s third solo exhibition at the gallery, "Wayfinding", featuring all new mixed media works. An opening reception for the artist will be held on Saturday, October 26th from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM. The exhibition will be on view from October 26th through November 23rd, 2019. A closing reception will be held on Saturday, November 23rd from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM, with an artist talk starting at 6:30 PM.

In his upcoming exhibition, "Wayfinding", Benjamin Lowder returns with his latest in an ongoing series of mixed media works which he refers to as "Myth, Math & Magic", continuing to use the same materials consisting of vintage metal advertising signage and reclaimed wood. His mosaic assemblages are comprised of 20th century cultural artifacts from the United States which have been transformed into mythic wayfinding totems. Lowder’s works simultaneously encompass the notions of where we have been, through the nostalgia of their materials, where we are, with their polarized color scheme and where we are going, by referencing sustainability and sacred geometry. The meaning of these artifacts and the embodied energy within them have been transmuted into new objects that signify the essence of our ancestors and place them as signs at the crossroads of the present moment. Lowder explains, “I let the cultural artifacts be place holders for the culture at large while subjecting them to an alchemical metamorphosis.”

Benjamin Lowder (American, b. 1974) creates totems and assemblages out of repurposed industrial and commercial materials, which he deconstructs and reconstructs into art objects that direct viewers’ attention and reverence toward Nature’s divine design. His process is guided by sacred geometry, ancient wisdom traditions and intuition. Lowder’s work is informed by his education in Semiotics at the University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University. He is the founder and director of Cherokee Street Gallery in St. Louis, Missouri, and currently resides in Otter Lake, Illinois, where he built his sustainable home and studio using reclaimed lumber from abandoned barns and old industrial buildings. It was through the use of geometry in designing and building a home in balance with the natural environment that his interest in incorporating that geometry in his artwork started to develop. Lowder’s work is in museums and private collections nationwide, and he was named by Artsy in 2018 as one of “7 Artists Reinventing the Ancient Art of Mosaics”.