From Lowry Hill Gallery:

Lowry Hill Gallery is pleased to present Annemarie’s Vision, an exhibition of oil paintings by St. Paul artist, Kirsten Tradowsky.

Earning her BFA from Cleveland Institute of Art and MFA from California College of the Arts, Tradowsky has a long exhibition history in California and now resides in the Twin Cities with her family. Using media references from her family archive, this series of work presents a contemporary understanding of a far-off past. Through painted interpretations of photographs taken by her immigrant grandmother, Annemarie, Tradowsky arrives at a deeper understanding of her life, despite never having met her. Tradowsky’s paintings are known for their color and sweeping, expressive brush strokes. Of this exhibition, she writes:

“My Grandmother, Annemarie Wentscher Tradowsky, lived in Berlin, Germany, with my Grandfather, Walter Tradowsky, a theater director. They had a son, my father Michael Tradowsky, in 1935, and a daughter, my Tante Monika, six years later. My Grandmother raised her children during the turbulent and devastating time of Nazi Germany and World War II.

My grandmother was a professional kids photographer at a studio in Berlin before she got married. After, she carried her camera with her everywhere she went to capture photos of my grandfather, father, and aunt. She also took many photos of family friends and cousins when traveling around Germany.

Despite being fearful of the Nazis and later the war, she tried to create a place where her children could still be creative and feel safe. Sometimes, my grandfather caught these moments with her in it. These photos and my paintings depict these moments.

In the 1950s, my family immigrated to the United States and settled in California. My grandmother continued to photograph the family up until her death from cancer in the mid 1960s. I keep learning more and more about her from my father’s autobiography, “War Children,” and the conversations I have with my Tante Monika.

After my father’s passing in January 2025, I’ve been gifted many of her photo albums. A collection of our family moments. I see her being a strong and inventive mother in these shots. I, too, am now a mother of a six-year-old and in these, our own turbulent times, I’m trying to be as uplifting and creative as she was. Even though I never met my grandmother, I’m feeling more connected to her, and my late dad, through these photos that depict a family life I was never a part of yet echoes through me."

Artist Talk: Kirsten Tradowsky
Saturday, Mar. 28 • 2–6 PM
Lowry Hill Gallery (1009 W Franklin Ave)