A landmark exhibition is about to open on the National Mall: “Water’s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe,” the first major retrospective of the celebrated Hoocąk (Ho-Chunk) artist, opens November 25, 2026 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and runs through January 18, 2027.
The exhibition brings together nearly 50 of Lowe’s sculptures, drawings, and paintings, many of them monumental works gathered from public and private collections, including 28 from the museum itself. Made of willow branches, feathers, and other natural materials, his elegant, minimalist sculptures capture the rivers, streams, and waterfalls of the Wisconsin woodlands where he was raised — and the canoes once used to travel them.
The show is organized around four intertwined themes: Moving Water, The Land Holds Memory, Woodland Structures, and Memory and Shared Knowledge. Visitors will also find personal and historical photographs of Lowe’s family and studio, offering an intimate look at what shaped his art.
An internationally exhibited artist, Lowe taught sculpture for 35 years at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and was the founding curator of contemporary art at the museum. As curator Rebecca Head Trautmann notes, his art reflects on waters and woodlands, family and cultural traditions, memory and knowledge. Admission to the museum is free — a perfect reason to plan your visit this season.
Photo: National Museum of the American Indian
