DR. SARAH LOWNDES
Education
2002-2007
Glasgow School of Art
AHRC funded PhD. Thesis title: ‘The Contradiction is Real: Concrete Performance in
Southern California, 1967-1975’.
2000-2001
Glasgow School of Art
M.Phil. Art and Design in Organisational Contexts. Thesis title: ‘Social Sculpture
Glasgow 1979-2002’, analysing the contemporary art and music scenes in Glasgow.
1993-1997
University of Glasgow
M.A. (Hons), English Literature / Film and Television Studies.
Selected published writing
“Thea Djordjadze: Lost Promise in a Room”, Commentary, (Glasgow: The Common Guild, 2011).
“Botanical Vaudeville”, Robert Rauschenberg, (New York: Gagosian Gallery, 2011).
“Solo Scenes”, Dieter Roth (Edinburgh: Fruitmarket Gallery, 2012, forthcoming).
Social Sculpture: The Rise of the Glasgow Art Scene (Edinburgh: Luath Press, 2010)
“Learned by Heart: the Paintings of Richard Wright’, Richard Wright (New York: Rizzoli, 2010).
“Some Erotic Process: the performances of Shelly Nadashi”, Ambush in Wedding, Shelly Nadashi, ed.,
(Glasgow, 2010).
“White dots the hawthorne”, First and Last, RM Hubbert, ed., (Glasgow: Ubisano, 2010).
“The Stranger”, 2HB, (Glasgow: CCA, 2009), Autumn 2009.
“Katja Strunz: The clock is forgotten”, Katja Strunz, (Bute: Mount Stuart, 2009).
“I want to make something I don’t understand”, HICA: Four Exhibitions (Inverness: HICA (the Highland
Institute for Contemporary Art), 2009).
“Aleana Egan: A Grey Luminous Light From the Sea”, Aleana Egan (Basel: Kunsthalle Basel, 2008).
“Straight Letters”, Camilla Low, (Dundee: Dundee Contemporary Arts, 2008).
“Phosphorescent blindfold: the drawings of Rob Churm”, Rob Churm Under Key Seventeen, (Berlin: Argo
Books, 2008).
“The Glasgow Scene”, The History of British Art, Volume III (London: Tate Publishing, 2008),
“If Only I Could Tell You”, Gary Rough, (Glasgow: Sorcha Dallas, 2006).
“How to become modern and return to sources”, Gravy Planet, A World Drawing by Panayoitis Michael
and Konstantia Sofokleous, (Nicosia: Cyprus Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, 2005).
“The e-mail interview”, Research Interviewing, (Maidenhead: The Open University, 2005).
“You're Going Home in a F----ing Ambience”, Synth, (Leipzig: Kunstraum B/2, 2004).
Social Sculpture, Art, Performance and Music in Glasgow, A Social History of Independent Practice,
Exhibitions and Events since 1971, (Glasgow: STOPSTOP, 2004).
“The Very Thought of You”, Flesh At War With Enigma, (Basel: Kunsthalle Basel, 2004).
“A Shiny Kind of Black”, The Echo Show, (Glasgow: Tramway, 2003).
“Static Utopia”, Toby Paterson, (Glasgow: The Modern Institute, 2001).
“Going Around the Outside – Bless and Playful Fashion”, Vivre Sa Vie, (Glasgow: Tramway, 2000).
Selected articles and reviews
“The Real Turner Prize Winner: This One’s for You, Glasgow”, The Guardian Online, 8th December 2010.
“The time-texts of Corin Sworn” (Blanket Gallery, Vancouver, December 2010)
“Artists at work: Susan Hiller in conversation with Sarah Lowndes”, Afterall Online, February 3rd 2011.
“Slow Dazzle: A Brief Account of the Rise of the Glasgow Art Scene”, Glasgow: City Report, Spike Art
Monthly (forthcoming, Spring 2011)
Feature report on Manifesta:The European Biennial of Contemporary Art for Map Magazine (Winter,
2010).
“I Am the Space Where I Am: from Subversion to Citizenship”, essay on performance art /public space
in Glasgow commissioned by PAR + RS (Public Art Scotland), March 2010.
“Another world is possible”, essay on the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art 2010,
commissioned for Dialogue, the web journal of Axis, the contemporary arts resource, April 2010.
“Laura Aldridge”, frieze, Issue 131, May 2010.
“Thea Djordjadze”, Afterall, Winter 2009.
“Everyone is in the best seat: two approaches to playing a building”, Spike Art Quarterly, Winter 2009.
“Arrival Inside”, Frieze, Issue 125, September 2009.
“Small phenomenal things: the films of Luke Fowler”, Spike Art Quarterly, Summer 2009.
“Sebastian Buerkner”, Frieze, April 2009.
“Abraham Cruzvillegas”, Frieze January/February 2009.
“Back to You: Contemporary Performance”, MAP Winter 2008.
“Kate Davis”, (Sorcha Dallas), Art on Paper November 2008 .
“Kay Rosen”, (Ingleby Gallery), Frieze, Autumn 2008.
“Altered States of Paint”, (Dundee Contemporary Art), Frieze, September 2008.
“Glasgow International”. Artforum, September 2008 .
“Rhythm and Knowledge: the typed drawings of Sue Tompkins”, Art on Paper, May 2008.
“Scott Myles: (The Modern Institute, Glasgow), frieze, March 2008.
“Rob Churm” (Sorcha Dallas, Glasgow), frieze, Issue 107, May 2007.
“Torsten Lauschmann” (Mary Mary, Glasgow), frieze, Issue 103, November/December 2006.
“Luke Fowler” (The Modern Institute, Glasgow), frieze, Issue 99, May 2006.
“Marcel Duchamp, The Women’s Movement and West Coast Art”, Egoburger, Issue 2,
http://www.lauschmann.com/egoburger.html, March 2006.
“Sue Tompkins” (The Modern Institute, Glasgow), Map, Issue 5, Spring 2006.
“Sue Tompkins” Axis, www.axisweb.org, Spring 2005.
“George Brecht” (Museum Ludwig, Koln), frieze, Issue 98, April 2006.
“Chris Burden” (Locus +, Newcastle), frieze, 2005.
“Karla Black” (Mary Mary, Glasgow), frieze, Issue 89, March 2005.
“Kate Davis, Domestic strangeness; Sylvia Plath and discredited femininity”, frieze, Issue 91, May 2005.
“Kate Davis” (Sorcha Dallas, Glasgow), Circa, Issue 111, Spring 2005.
Toby Paterson (Sutton Lane, London), frieze, Issue 85, September 2004.
“Alex Frost”, (Sorcha Dallas, Glasgow), frieze, Issue 84, August 2004.
“Dirk Bell, Kate Davis, Alan Michael”, (The Changing Room, Stirling), frieze, Issue 74, 2003.
“Mary Redmond”, (The Modern Institute, Glasgow), frieze, Issue 72, December 2002.
“Red Scratch”, Saturday edited by Polly Staple, (London: Cubitt Gallery, August 2002).
“The Schindler House”, Untitled, No. 27, Spring 2002
“Henry VIII’s Wives”, (Tramway, Glasgow), frieze, Issue 69, September 2002.
“Cathy Wilkes”, Circa, Issue 101, Autumn 2002.
“Nan Goldin”, (Whitechapel Gallery, London), Untitled, No.27, Spring 2002.
“The Transmission Book”, Untitled, No. 26, Autumn/Winter 2001.
“Brownfield”, (Market gallery, Glasgow), Untitled, No. 25, Summer 2001.
Other professional activities
November 2006 – November 2008 Chair of the board of The Common Guild, Glasgow.
December 2004 - November 2006 Board member of The Modern Institute, Glasgow.
Summer 2004 – Board member of The Gillian Purvis Trust, Glasgow, which now administers three
different schemes: Final Year Award for Textiles students at GSA, Research Grant for 3rd year GSA
Textiles students, and the new Writing Award, open to students at GU, GSA, Glasgow Caledonian and
Strathclyde Universities.
In conversation with Aleana Egan, The Drawing Room, London, February 2011.
“Material Experience: Unpacking the Work of Karla Black”, talk at Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh,
February 2011.
In conversation with Phil Miller, discussing Social Sculpture: The Rise of the Glasgow Art Scene (2010) at
Glasgow International Book Festival, Glasgow, March 2011.
Dr Sarah Lowndes and PHD fellow Martin Fuller in discussion about situated interactions between artist
practice and specific urban environments, as part of the Elastic Frames exhibition curated by Corin
Sworn for Transmission Gallery, Glasgow, 19th February 2011.
Martin Boyce, Sarah Lowndes & Adam Szymczyk, “How Glasgow’s Art Scene Rose to World
Prominence”, discussion event to launch new edition of Social Sculpture at the Edinburgh International
Book Festival, August 2010.
“Context as impetus, hindrance and inspiration”, paper presented at the conference Radical
Complicities: Curating and Art in the 21st Century, Hawthorndon Lecture Theatre, National Gallery
Complex,
Edinburgh, May 2010.
Curator and producer of Urlibido: A Night of Magic, project for Open Glasgow section of Glasgow
International 2010, presenting newly commissioned works by Kim Coleman & Jenny Hogarth, Susie
Green, Shelly Nadashi, Kimberley O’Neill, Morag Ross and Cara Tolmie. Funded through Culture and
Sport Glasgow and the Scottish Arts Council.
“Object as Event” talk to accompany Votive exhibition with Richard Wright and Torsten Lauschmann at
CCA, Glasgow, January 2010.
Curator of international group exhibition Votive with work by Nerea Bello (Spain/UK), Chris Burden USA),
Abraham Cruzvillegas (Mexico), Thea Djordjadze (Germany), Torsten Lauschmann (Germany/UK) and
2009 Turner Prize nominee Richard Wright (UK) at CCA, Glasgow, December 2009 – January 2010.
Talk to accompany “Luke Fowler” exhibition at The Serpentine Gallery, London, June 2009.
Chair and co-organiser (with Kathryn Elkin and Louise Shelley) of “Subject in Process” one-day
symposium at CCA, Glasgow, September 2009.
Curator, international group exhibition “Votive” at CCA, Glasgow, December 2009 (forthcoming).
February 2009 – curator of online exhibition “A Goodbye that Resists being Total” for Axis, online
resource for contemporary art.
December 2008 - Chair of discussion event at the Changing Room, Stirling to coincide with the
exhibition “Concrete Shadows” (group exhibition with Kate Davis, Ines Schaber, Lucy Skaer, Catherine
Street).
Autumn 2008, talk at Cove Park, addressing my own practice.
July 2008 – Curator, “Three Blows’ – all-sound acoustic performance event at St. Cecilia’s Hall,
Edinburgh. Also chair of “Thinking Music” discussion with Mayo Thompson and Keith Rowe.
Summer 2008 – SAC Writer’s residency, Cove Park, Argyle & Bute.
April 2008 - Lecture on the work of Nick Evans and Tony Swain, Inverleith House, Edinburgh.
March 2008 – “In conversation” with Camilla Low, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee.
December 2007 – Introduction to an artist’s talk by Linder Sterling at Transmission, Gallery, Glasgow.
October 2007 – Lecture on the Glasgow art scene, given to members of Glasgow University Art Society.
December 2006 – Lecture on the Glasgow art scene, “Ideas About a Place – Glasgow Art since the
1970s”, given to members of the Basle Kunstverein, at Transmission gallery, Glasgow.
July 2006 – “Actual Bodies and Social Sites”: talk given as part of discussion on Contemporary Scottish
Art, as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival, at Stills gallery, Edinburgh.
February 2005 – “Social Sculpture”, Friday Event at Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow.