‘Conspiracy art’ exhibition by SU alum to show at Lowe Gallery

‘Conspiracy art’ exhibition by SU alum to show at Lowe GalleryApril 05, 2004Jean Hartjnhart@syr.edu

A traveling retrospective of 25 works by the late Mark Lombardi will be on exhibit at Syracuse University’s Joe and Emily Lowe Art Gallery from April 27-June 4. An opening reception will be held on April 28 from 5-8 p.m. in the Shaffer Art Building. The exhibition, titled “Global Networks,” is free and open to the public.

Using just graphite and red pencil on paper, Lombardi’s creations are an intricate pattern of curves and arcs illustrating the links between global finance and international terrorism. Commonly referred to as ‘conspiracy art,’ Lombardi’s works also explore subjects ranging from the collapse of the Vatican bank to the Iran-Contra scandal. He was inspired almost entirely by published sources, such as newspaper and magazine articles.

“The critical response to Lombardi’s works has been extraordinary,” says Edward A. Aiken, director of the Lowe Art Gallery and associate professor of art history and museum studies at SU. “Some viewers may be struck by the political nature of his information, while others may be more impressed by how his work structures information into coherent patterns and relationships. Both qualities add to the beauty of the drawn images.”

Lombardi was born in Syracuse in 1951 and received his BA from SU in 1974. After leaving SU, he moved to Houston, where he worked as an assistant curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art. He moved to New York City in 1997, where he lived until his death in 2000. One-man exhibitions include shows at

Deven Golden Fine Art in New York (1999) and at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Washington, D.C. (1998), and his work has been featured in many group shows.

The Lowe Gallery is open Tuesday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m. and Wednesday, noon-8 p.m. The Lowe Gallery is handicapped accessible.