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Purveyors of the finest and roughest in art and publishing

Steve Lowe,
Director of the aquarium
Steve Lowe studied fine art at Byham Shaw School of Art (now part of Central St Martins) and the University of Ulster. After this experience he did his best to avoid the art world as much as possible whilst playing in the bands Buxom and The Impossible, and earning a living as a rare book dealer. He started the aquarium as a gallery in 2003 after a period of intense emotional upheaval and a five week kayaking expedition in the arctic.

www.theaquariumonline.co.uk


Hub of energised creativity and home to artists renowned for their integrity and oppositional stance to mainstream cultural orthodoxy, THE AQUARIUM L-13 is an independent gallery and imaginative publisher founded by artist and musician Steve Lowe in 2003.

Based in premises that were destroyed during the Great War by a bomb dropped from Zeppelin L-13, Steve Lowe works closely with a small group of special artists, musicians and writers chosen for their particular political and creative persuasion.

Over the last five years this activity has been represented by a continuous programme of innovative exhibitions and the production of a vast range supportive artworks, multiples and published works that aim to reinvigorate and often subvert the way we view and consume art. As much as possible is made on-site, and most of it is done in creative collaboration with THE AQUARIUM L-13.

This work – which includes paintings, prints, artist books, novels, records, wallpaper, jewellery, stamps, teapots and a political campaign – is showcased in the ground floor gallery that has the atmosphere more akin to a Victorian gentleman’s club than a regular art space, whilst the basement gallery is dedicated to special exhibitions by the individual artists.

Approachability and attainability has also been a driving force for THE AQUARIUM L-13, so whilst one finger is firmly on the pulse of fine art and cultural discourse, the other is on one of mass appeal and accessibility. Much of the art is also very affordable with prices starting at 25p for a signed limited edition print.

There is no other place like THE AQUARIUM L-13.

The artists that regularly exhibit and make work for and with THE AQUARIUM L-13 are:

James Cauty – UK Master Artist
· Founder member of The KLF and the K-Foundation. Best known for dumping a dead sheep at the Brit
Awards and burning one million quid. Now creator of some of the world’s finest art stamps.
Billy Childish – artist/painter/author/musician
· Painter, musician, writer and polemicist. Known for his energised integrity and staggering creative output.
Contrary to popular belief he did not found the Stuckists and was only a member for a very short period.
Sexton Ming – painter/musician/poet
· Founder of the Medway Poets, has appeared on over twenty albums and runs his own record label
Anne Pigalle – French artist, musician and eroticist
· Collaborated with several musicians, including Michael Nyman. Worked as a muse/model for fashion
designers and graced Mario Testino’s first cover for French Vogue
Jamie Reid - artist
· Situationist inspired Druid, painter and the godfather of punk design. Best known for his collaborations with
the Sex Pistols for whom he created the highly influential record covers. Less known for his spirituality and
highly charged paintings that employ intense colour work with “sacred geometry”.
STOT21stCPLANB – Artists
· Stands for Scorpion Thunderbolt of the Twenty First Century Plan
· Artists and musicians specialising in dark, oppositional and irreverent work, often to comic effect. Steve
Lowe is a founder member of this group.
Geraldine Swayne – painter/musician/experimental film maker
· Made the first ever home movie for Imax. Is currently focusing on her work as a painter as well as playing
with Kraut Rock legends Faust.

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press release information is available (pdf file) regarding current work on
Billy Childish, Geraldine Swayne, the Assistant Mayoral Campaign
info@theartorganisation.co.uk

For further information / Use of pictures / Interviews
Idea Generation: +44(0)20 7749 6850
Katie Reynolds: katie@ideageneration.co.uk
Marta Bogna: marta@ideageneration.co.uk
For more information about the aquarium
www.theaquariumonline.co.uk