Eva S. Low

CV

Biography

Eva S. Low is a Philadelphia-based oil painter, with a primary focus on portraits and self-portraits. Her pieces are often products of working from life and photographs combined. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College with a degree in studio art and a minor in psychology. Born in Jakarta to a Chinese-Indonesian family, Eva immigrated to the United States at the age of four.

Eva currently works as a K-8th-grade educator. She hopes to work towards an MFA and teach at the college level.

In her free time, Eva enjoys playing the ukulele and attempting to cuddle her very spirited cat, Ash.

Artist’s Statement

I utilize portraiture to explore the concept of isolation—specifically, detachment from oneself from the physical world and, oftentimes, cultural identity.

Often starting my oil paintings from direct observation, I take advantage of several hours-long sessions to not only capture as much from life as possible but to converse with and come to a deeper understanding of each unique subject. I later utilize references and imagination to add additional symbolic elements, keeping forefront personal interpretations of the person’s essence. In such a fast-paced, often superficial society, I aim to decelerate time and allow an intimate, honest glimpse into each other’s lives – a luxury seldom granted.

My self-portraits follow a very similar starting process but function more as keepsakes of self-reflection. My own identity as an Indonesian immigrant of Chinese descent has created a deep sense of loss: I moved to the United States at the age of four and grew up in an environment that has “othered” me, with those closest choosing to strip away what little I had retained from my motherland. This led to a deeply fractured sense of self and belonging that has tainted many other parts of life, warping what should’ve been sources of safety and comfort into those rooted in anxiety and fear. I'm regularly drawn to the cyclical nature of life, the uncertainty behind shadows, and, more recently, the rich, yet fleeting quality of alizarin crimson, to display these themes on canvas: each finished painting a step closer to finding some peace within.