Because We Like It: Dowhie Collections 2014

Summer 2014

Because We Like It: The Art Collection(s) of Lenny and Anne Dowhie
June 9 - September 7, 2014

The exhibit of 118 ceramic, mixed media and woven sculptures and vessels, prints, paintings, drawings and jewelry is the result of over 40 years of collecting art from around the globe by Evansville-based artists/teachers, Lenny and Anne Dowhie. There will be a free, public closing reception for the Dowhies and the exhibit from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, September 4, with a short gallery talk by the collectors at 6:30 p.m.

The exhibit is divided into four sections: contemporary ceramic artworks, contemporary ceramic cups, works by family members and former students and two-dimensional artworks. Major figures in the ceramics field such as Paul Soldner, Jim Leedy, Don Reitz and Ken Ferguson are represented, as well as international ceramic artists such as Master Tang of Taiwain and Palonia and Ronaldo Martinez of Mexico among many others. Prints by Chicago imagist Roger Brown and master printmakers Rudy Pozzatti and David Driesbach are highlights of the two-dimensional work, but a painting by Arizona artist and brother, Carl Dowhie, and collages by artist and aunt Eugenia Woolman are also featured. These are only a few of the many treasures to be found in this eclectic and exciting exhibition.

Lenny and Anne Dowhie came to Evansville in 1978 when Lenny Dowhie accepted a position in the Art department at the University of Southern Indiana. He retired in 2011 after 33 years of teaching ceramics and three-dimensional design at USI. Anne Dowhie retired last year from teaching for 30 years in several area schools, most recently in the Art department at Central High School in Evansville. Lenny Dowhie has participated in artist residencies in the former Soviet Union, China, Australia and Taiwan, and Anne has worked in Australia and Japan. Their love of art and travel are well illustrated by the quality and scope of their collection(s) of art.