RICK LEWIS
Texas born painter Rick Lewis grew up in the Gulf of Mexico coastal region.
“I believe that my direct connection with that ecology was pivotal to the early formulation of my aesthetic. There is a strange and wonderful mixture of Native American, French Acadian, and Mexican cultures that contributes to the land’s vibration. I was lucky enough to experience
the crossing over of so many religions and belief systems. Animism, Catholicism, Mysticism, Voodoo … It is all there, and is inextricably tied to
the land.”
For me, imagery seems to make itself known through perception of “a thing” or through remembered experience. The natural environment is the only source that provides the metaphors for the way that abstract paintings work. We don’t have language to help us deal with abstract images. Paintings should take you way beyond any singular subject matter. I like the sense that everything is available.
The work is born out of relationships to or qualities within nature that connect with my psyche. Art is often referred to as a reflection of nature in both Eastern and Western culture. Man being part of nature rather than subjugating it, is not a new idea. We seem to sometimes forget this basic tenet of being human. I think a lot about this concept and how it pertains to my own life as an artist. Paul Klee said that “paintings in and of themselves are nature. Nature from which the materials and support came, nature is the artist’s hand, nature as dialogue with the viewer, resulting in an image as a reminder of not “who” but what we are.” Life is something akin to the surfaces in my paintings: aqueous, fluid, non-linear, ever changing. My intent is to offer the work as a representation of this temporal existence.
Rick Lewis' influences include Joan Miro, Antoni Tapies, Paul Klee, Alberto Burri, Texan visionary painter Forrest Bess,Eastern calligraphy,
and Eastern philosophy. He was a recipient of the Carol Cook Memorial Foundation Arts Award for excellence in painting. His artist in residency awards include the Edward F. Albee Foundation in Montauk, NY, The Millay Colony Residency in Austerlitz, NY and The Bali Purnati Center for the Arts in Bali,Indonesia.
He exhibits in Hong Kong, Indonesia, New York, Philadelphia, and Texas. His work is held in numerous public and private collections throughout the world.
Rick Lewis' work has been shown at ART BASEL Hong Kong, Galerie - Martini and Sin Sin Fine Art in Hong Kong, McKinney Avenue Contemporary (MAC), Kristy Stubbs Gallery, and Hooks-Epstein Galleries in Texas, Albright-Knox Museum, Kouros Gallery, and Steven Amedee in New York, Mount Airy Contemporary in Philadelphia, and other venues.
Rick Lewis currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
To see more of Rick Lewis' work click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ricklewis/page1/
