PALM DESERT - The art of Ming C. Lowe is not for the fainthearted, pretty-picture lovers.

Elements of grotesque imagery - dominant blacks, intense splashes of reds and yellows, angular shapes, and unpleasant subject matter - all characterize her exhibit titled, "Six New Paintings." Yet these large scale canvas oils, inspired by Ms. Lowe's 1986 Caribbean cruise, are not without whimsy and manage at their core to uplift the spirit.

Incongruous with its '50s desert architecture, but befitting their avant-garde flavor of the art, her Palm Desert gallery at Portola and Catalina Way has been recently converted to a bare floor, industrial style interior. The entry room features her new pieces while two others delineate major phases of her one-woman retrospective. All images depict highly conventionalized human and animal forms

The second room holds a multitude of exuberant pastels on paper representing the artist's primary medium during the '70s and early '80s. Bold splashes of charcoal serve as a harbinger fro contrasting textures of blacks in her oils to come. A growing penchant for oversize paper predicts her ultimate evolution to massive canvas. Attention to total composition can be noticed in asymmetrical ragged edges which meet the mood of the content of the art and intensify expression.

A single work of total realism depicting a profile of a young African mystic satisfies the viewer that Ms. Lowe can indeed paint after nature with accomplishment - a criterion used by some collectors who doubt their ability to assess a relatively unknown artist's talent when purchasing conventionalized or abstract art.

Seeing a flurry of Oskar Kokoshka here and a dribble of Jackson Pollock there, it becomes obvious that even without formal academic training , Ms. Lowe has indeed studied the masters of modern art. Undulating lines are often reminiscent of both German and Abstract Expressionism. Angular shapes brink on Cubistic, often Braque-like, forms. Touches of practically all 20th century schools are utilized to derive her highly personalized style and provide a myriad of artistic statements, always with a single undercurrent. In countless ways she addresses the paradox of the oppression of the human spirit embattled by and usually overcome by eternal hope.

At not time is this paradox more poignantly translated than the, sensitive "Execution, Gary Gilmore." It would seem blasphemous to try to describe the ethereal qualities that create the wonder of this faceless figure meeting his death.

In her quality works her initial impact of uneasiness created by distortion of forms, partially hidden symbols and darkness of color is quickly overpowered by the deeper sense of compassion aroused, typifying a tour de force which rings throughout.

With many pieces delivering a depth of expression which should grow with time, the art of Ming C. Lowe promises a stimulating and sometimes inspiring viewing.

Mary Klifman is a professional art consultant in Palm Springs who holds a degree in art history.