Water’s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe

Celebrate Native American artist Truman Lowe in this career retrospective featuring 100+ images and intimate insights on his one-of-a-kind sculptures.

Published in conjunction with a Smithsonian exhibition--a must-see for fans of contemporary art and Indigenous art

Nationally acclaimed artist Truman Lowe (Hoocąk [Ho-Chunk], 1944-2019) was best known for his sculptures that transform wood into water. Working with organic materials such as willow branches and feathers, his artworks evoke the rivers, streams, and waterfalls in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, where he was raised, as well as the history and lived experiences of his family and Hoocąk community. Water’s Edge is a stunning retrospective, featuring nearly five decades of Lowe’s sculptures, drawings, and paintings.

The introduction explores the overlapping themes of moving water, woodland structures, memory and knowledge, and landscape and place that permeate Lowe’s work. Essays from scholars contextualize the art within his life, career, and heritage, including the repeated expulsion of the Hoocąk people from their ancestral homeland and their resolve to return. In deeply moving reflections, fellow artists share their connections to Lowe, his influence on their lives and work, and his impact on American art.

In addition to featuring his breathtaking work, the book includes lesser known drawings and personal photos of his family and studio to offer an intimate look at his influences and process. Highlighting work that is both innovative and rooted in tradition, Water’s Edge is a gorgeous tribute to the evolution of one of the sculpting world’s greatest practitioners.

REBECCA HEAD TRAUTMANN is an assistant curator of contemporary art at the National Museum of the American Indian. The Smithsonian’s NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN is an institution of living cultures dedicated to advancing knowledge and understanding of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.