Michael Allen Lowe was born November 6^th, 1979 in Hennepin County, Minnesota. The son of a salesman, the young Michael lead a very nomadic life, moving to a new city every year or so. In this isolating environment – Lowe had little time to make friends in each new home – Michael was forced to find ways to entertain himself, and thus he came to art. A highly imaginative child, he excelled in many creative media, and though most notably known for his ability as a draftsman he also experimented with mechanical puppetry, figurative ceramic, and metal work such as bronze casting and steel welding.

Though Lowe had had some experience in art classes as a child, it was when he settled in at his high school in a suburb of Chicago that he began to study painting more seriously. Despite his youth, his work began to gain some recognition. He won several awards, including a grant from the state of Illinois, and was made an artist in residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Intent on pursuing art, Lowe decided to attend the Kansas City Art Institute, where he was able to further expand his artistic experimentations. There, Lowe worked with a variety of different media, including woodworking, sculpture, stone-carving, bookmaking, photography, glass-casting, and printmaking. But despite the lure of these interesting and unique artistic media, Lowe felt himself drawn to painting, and devoted his time at the Institute to studying it as thoroughly as he could. This proved more difficult than he thought, as the school highly favored abstraction to Lowe’s classical figurative style. But the quality of his work was nonetheless apparent, and when Lowe graduated he was honored to be chosen as the commencement speaker.

Lowe remained in Kansas City for a time, but eventually left to travel to Europe, wishing to witness firsthand the great works of art that had so strongly inspired him. His experiences in Europe overwhelmed him, and when he returned to his studio he found himself humbled and stuck. Lowe desired to both represent the polished aesthetic of the classical works he had seen, while also feeling a deep need to develop his own personal style, and make his mark as a contemporary artist. For two years Lowe struggled with this problem, until he moved to Massachusetts, where he once again found inspiration. He spent three years there, motivated and painting.

In June 2008, Lowe’s premiere solo exhibition, ‘Lazaria’ opened in New York at Findlay Galleries. He continued to work with Findlay Galleries for the next year, but eventually stopped painting so he could pursue a new arena: writing. After completing his first major book, an epic work of historical fiction titled ‘Fuseli; Or, A Vindication Of The Modern Prometheus,’ Lowe returned to painting. His pursuit of history, the old masters, and figurative allegory contuse today, as he is currently pursuing a MLitt degree in Art History at the University of Saint Andrews.