ABOUT

Artist Statement

“I see artistic expression as a dynamic collaboration between imagination and medium—where form emerges organically through movement.”

My work explores the emotional landscapes of social, political, and cultural struggles through abstract and figurative forms. From paintings and monoprints to ceramic and metal sculptures, each piece draws from my fieldwork as an anthropologist in places where survival is both fragile and inspiring. I view art as a powerful, non-verbal language—one that speaks through visceral encounters and evokes shared human experience.

Movement lies at the heart of my creative process. Each gesture channels emotion and sensation directly into the material—whether it’s paint, pastel, metal, or clay. I’m drawn to mediums that allow for intuitive manipulation, revealing the energy and intensity of the hand.

“My art and cultural writing resonate with each other—both probing how we inhabit space, and how the natural and built environments shape our embodied lives.”

Biography

Setha Low, a Los Angeles native now rooted in the East End of Long Island, began her professional life as an anthropologist, conducting research across Central America, Europe, Africa, and Japan. Formerly a professor in the Graduate School of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania, and currently a distinguished professor at the CUNY Graduate Center, she has authored landmark books such as Why Public Space Matters, Spatializing Culture, On the Plaza, and Behind the Gates, which explore the complex intersections of space, culture, and society.

Setha’s journey as a visual artist began in 2002, evolving into a full-fledged practice by 2006 when she joined the Crazy Monkey Gallery. Working from her studio in the Northwest Woods, she creates expansive acrylic paintings, tubular metal sculptures, raku-fired ceramics, and multi-media monoprints. Her watercolors reflect the landscape near her home, offering moments of stillness in a world of flux.

Her art engages with urgent contemporary themes—separation, temporality, interconnection, climate change, and the reintegration of body and psyche. Ceramic torsos and etched pairings speak to embodiment, while her expressive garments—painted, stuffed, and suspended—convey a sense of ecological and psychological immediacy. Monoprints layer natural materials and vivid color to comment on environmental degradation, while her interactive sculptures and used clothing installation The Wardrobe echo feminist artists, inviting viewers into an “art commons.”

Her latest works—paintings alive with color, broken rhythms, and spatial movement—reflect influences ranging from German Expressionism and early Surrealism to the COBRA artists like Karel Appel.

Setha Low’s work is held in private collections and by the Tile Club at Guild Hall. She regularly exhibits across the East End and New York City, contributing to solo, juried, and invitational shows. Her commitment to social justice and human rights is reflected in her generous support of charitable art events, where community and creativity intersect.

Education

• B.A. Pitzer College, Claremont, California (Art and Anthropology).
• Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley (Cultural Anthropology).
• Art training: Dennis Leri, Linda Capello, Diane Mayo, Diane Giardi, Mary Jaffe, Courtney Leonard, Barbara Groot, Janet Jennings, Elizabeth Karsch, Samuel Havens, and Dan Weldon.

Invited Art Presentations

• 2025 East End Collected 8 Panel, Southampton Art Center, Southampton.
• 2023 Community in Dialogue: Setha Low, Guild Hall, East Hampton.
• 2022 Insights into the Artistic Process, Parrish Museum, Watermill.
• 2018 Politics and Process. Creative Networking Night. East Hampton Arts Council.
• 2015 Embracing the Other. The James Gallery, New York.

Juried Exhibitions

• 2022 All the Places We Go, White Room Gallery, Bridgehampton.
• 2018 Flow, White Room Gallery, Bridgehampton.
• 2017 Love and Passion, White Room Gallery, Bridgehampton.
• 2016 Long Island Biennial, The Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington.
  • Summer of Sculpture Indoor Sculpture Show, Ashawagh Hall, East Hampton.
  • Figuratively Speaking, The Art League of Long Island, Dix Hills.
  • Water, Fine Arts selection, Hampton Art Hub.
  • Peace, Love, and Understanding, White Room Gallery, Bridgehampton.
• 2015 Material Matters, Southampton Cultural Center, Southampton.
  • East to West Show, Southampton Arts Center, Southampton.
• 2014 Annual Juried Art Exhibition, Southampton Cultural Center, Southampton.
• 2013 117th Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, National Arts Club, Manhattan, New York.
  • Annual Juried Art Exhibition, Southampton Cultural Center, Southampton.
• 2006 Art in Odd Places, West Village, New York City.

Solo Exhibitions

• 2018 The Wardrobe, Ashawagh Hall, East Hampton.
• 2011 New Century Artists Gallery, Chelsea, New York City.
• 2010 Crazy Monkey Galley, Guest Artist, Amagansett.
• 2009 Crazy Monkey Galley, Guest Artist, Amagansett.
• 2008 Walk Tall Gallery, East Hampton .

Invitational Exhibitions

• 2025 Hampton Pride Gala, Karyn Mannix and Tom House, curators, Longhouse Reserve, East Hampton.
  • East End Collected 8, Christina Strassfield and Paton Miller curators, SAC, Southampton.
  • A Little Bit of Everything, Chris Lucore, curator. The Lucore Art in Montauk.
  • The Annual Women’s Show, Karyn Mannix, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • Art Groove, Geralyne Lewandowski, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • 17 Women, Karyn Mannix, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • 24th Annual Box Art Auction, Arlene Bujese, curator, Benefit for East End Hospice.
  • What If? Art and Politics, Lance Corey, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • Grace Under Promise, Haim Mizrahi, curator, LTV Studios, Wainscott.
  • The Print Show,  Donna Corvi, curator, The Depot Gallery, Montauk.
  • 58th Annual Artists of the Springs Invitation Exhibition, Donna Corvi, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • Infinite Woman II, Women’s Art Center of the Hamptons (WACH), Bridgehampton, NY.
  • Art on Paper, The Mannix Project, Pier 36, 299 South St, New York, NY.
• 2024 The Annual Women’s Show, Karyn Mannix, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • Art Groove, Geralyne Lewandowski, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • AAEH 2024 Summer Show,  Ashawagh Hall
  • 23^rdAnnual Box Art Auction, Arlene Bujese, curator, Benefit for East End Hospice.
  • Back at Ashawagh. The Victor D’ Amico Institute of Art Exhibition. Ashawagh Hall.
  • Exquisite Corpse Exhibition. Art Center at Duck Creek.
• 2023 The Springs Artists’ Exhibition, 56^th Annual Invitational, Karyn Mannix, curator.
  • 22^rdAnnual Box Art Auction, curated by Arlene Bujese, Benefit for East End Hospice.
  • 16 Women, Karyn Mannix, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • Let There be Light, curated by Springs Improvement Society (SIS), Ashawagh Hall.
  • Drawathon Exhibition. Art Center at Duck Creek.
  • Round About, curated by Haim Mizrahi, LTV Studios, Wainscott.
• 2022 17 Women, Karyn Mannix, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • 21^rdAnnual Box Art Auction, curated by Arlene Bujese, Benefit for East End Hospice.
• 2021 The Neo-Tile Club, Scott Bluedorn, curator, Guild Hall.
  • Edge of Summer, Coco Myers, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • 20^th Annual Box Art Auction, curated by Arlene Bujese, Benefit for East End Hospice.
• 2020 Atmosphere of Abstraction, Arlene Bujese, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • Vito Sisti Reunion, Karyn Mannix, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • Wonderlust, Karyn Mannix, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
• 2019 19^th Annual Box Art Auction, curated by Arlene Bujese, Benefit for East End Hospice.
• 2018 18^th Annual Box Art Auction, curated by Arlene Bujese, Benefit for East End Hospice.
• 2017 The Springs Artists’ Exhibition, 50^th Annual Invitational, Teri Kennedy, curator.
  • 17^th Annual Box Art Auction, curated by Arlene Bujese, Benefit for East End Hospice.
• 2016 Winter Lights, Arlene Bujese, curator. Southampton Cultural Center.
  • Dealer’s Choice, Arlene Bujese, Kathryn Markel Gallery, Bridgehampton.
• 2015 The Springs Artists’ Exhibition. 48^th Annual Invitational, Andrea McCafferty, curator.
  • Resolve, Ellen Dooley, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
• 2014 Figures, Bodies and Nudes, Susan Nash, curator. Gallery of Graphic Arts, Manhattan.
  • Body of Work, Michael Cardacino, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • Curious, Ellen Dooley, curator, Ashawagh Hall.
  • 10th Annual Birdhouse Auction, Karyn Mannix, curator. Bridgehampton.
• 2013 9th Annual Bird House Auction, Karyn Mannix, curator. Bridgehampton.
  • Body of Work, Margaret Weissbach, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
  • In Memory of Vito Sisti, Ashawagh Hall.
• 2012 8th Annual Bird House Auction, Karyn Mannix, curator. Bridgehampton.
  • Painting and Sculpture, Mary Laspia, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
• 2011 44th Annual Artists of the Springs Invitational Exhibition, Esperanza Leon, curator.
  • 7th Annual Bird House Auction, Karyn Mannix, curator. 4 North Main, Southampton.
  • 21 Women: Painting and Sculpture, Vito Sisti, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
  • Broke*n, Ellen Dooley, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
  • Love and Passion, Karyn Mannix, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
• 2010 43rd Annual Artists of the Springs Invitational Exhibition, Bob Bachelard, curator.
  • Inner Perspectives, New Century Artists Gallery, Chelsea, New York.
  • Exploring Mediums: Part 1 and 2, Lenard Barton, curator. 4 Main Street, Southampton.
  • Red, and 12×12, Karyn Mannix, curator. Hampton Road Gallery, Southampton.
  • East Meets West, Marilyn Stevenson, curator. New Century Artists Gallery, Chelsea, New York.
  • 21 Women: Painting and Sculpture, Vito Sisti, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
• 2009 42nd Annual Artists of the Springs Invitational Exhibition, Arlene Bujese, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
  • 5th Annual Bird House Auction, Karyn Mannix, curator. Southampton.
  • 20 Women: Paintings and Sculpture, Ashawagh Hall.
  • Process: The Workshop Show, Dennis Leri, curator. Ashawagh Hall, East Hampton.
  • Purgatory, Ellen Dooley, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
• 2008 Art as Gift, Jana Hayden, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
  • War and Peace, Karyn Mannix, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
  • 4th Annual Bird House Auction, Karyn Mannix, curator. Southampton.
  • 21 Women: Paintings and Sculpture, Vito Sisti, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
  • Eight Plus One, Jana Hayden, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
• 2007 Second Annual Applied Arts Show, Amagansett, New York.
  • Madelle Hegeler Semerjian Gallery, Nancy Robbins, curator. Rogers Memorial Library.
  • 19 Women: Paintings and Sculpture, Vito Sisti, curator. Ashawagh Hall.
  • Recent work, Celadon Gallery, Water Mill, New York.

Awards

• Water, Fine Arts selection, Hampton Art Hub. 2016.
• Honorable Mention, Southampton Cultural Center, 2013.
• “Most thought provoking” and “Most original”, Crazy Monkey Gallery, February 2007.

Fellowships and Residencies

• Ax:son Johnson Foundation, Future of Places Fellowship
• Guggenheim Fellowship for the Origins of the Latin American and European Plaza.
• National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for John Carter Brown Library.
• National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Cultural Aspects of Design.
• Getty Center Fellowship for Intangible Art and Heritage Preservation.

In the collections of:

• Dr. and Mrs. Mark Curchack
• Dr. Ben Orlove
• Dr. Mario Davila
• Susan Rockford
• Ellen Nathanson
• Mr and Mrs. Leonard D’Angelica
• Victoria Matheson
• Mr. and Mrs. Mort Seidelman
• Mr. and Mrs. Ed Grant
• Mr. and Mrs. Robert Rothstein
• Iris Weinstein
• Rob Cardonsky
• Bonnie Cooperman
• Connie Anderson
• Jayne Sherman
• Larry Wolfson
• Marilyn Stevenson
• Joseph W. Newirth
• Sawaka Nage
• Drs. Yochanan Cohen and Yocheved Cohen-Charash
• Drs. Michael Lamb and Julie Pranikoff
• Richard Verchick
• Eileen Lipson
• Ann Brandeis
• Carlo Grossman
• Terry Ross
• Dr. Steven Rosen
• Arlene Bujese
• Susan Steiger
• Linda Kline
• Nancy Posternak
• Barbara Feldman
• Mehdi and Guity Adib
• Scott Benaglio
• Joan Spivak
• Arlynn and Van Brody

Pamela Lutenberg