Nate Lewis (artist)

Nate Lewis (born 1985) is an American artist.[1][2][3]

Art

Lewis graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2009.[2][3] Lewis' artwork borrows heavily from that medical training[4] to deliver works that he describes as being influenced by the "rhythms and records of people’s lives... vulnerability, empathy and care."[5] As the self-taught artist's work and exposure progressed, he "started using African-American figures and thinking about empathy and what is empathy outside of the hospital."[5] The Washington City Paper described his process as "... The works are compositionally minimal, even austere—mostly portraits that are simple and straight on, printed on porous paper in stark black and white. Lewis then sculpts the paper by snipping, slicing, and perforating the silhouette of the bodies to create three-dimensional figures that emerge from the canvas."[6]

In 2019, together with street artist Shepard Fairey and others, Lewis began exploring the use of billboards for political art purposes to create anti-President Trump messages ahead of the President's visit to Cleveland.[7]

Awards

Lewis was a 2014 Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Regional Winner (Washington DC).[8] His work has been included in the US Art in Embassies Program,[1] and is in the permanent collections of the University of Maryland[9] and the Yuko Nii Foundation. Lewis was selected in 2014 as the inaugural resident artist for Martha's Vineyard Art on the Vine Program.[10]

Critical reception

In a review of his first solo show, The Washington City Paper observed that "Lewis’ medical training and saint-like patience from years of caretaking are apparent in his practice. The paper-cutting process is laborious and detailed; it often takes him up to 38 hours to complete larger works..."[6]

In a separate review of his 2017 solo show in Washington, DC, The Washington Post art critic observed that "to Nate Lewis, whose "Tensions in Tapestries"... the African American body is a landscape to be transformed. He cuts and scrapes black-and-white photographic portraits, removing pigment while adding patterns and flocked textures. The effect recalls African weaving and skin embellishment, but also reflects the influence of the D.C. artist's job as an intensive-care nurse, seeking to heal the most damaged."[11] In light of the artist's first solo exhibition at Fridman Gallery in New York, Ocula Magazine observes that Lewis' 'Incisions and gashes are not sewn back together, and a mending never happens. Instead, these wounds remain wide open, irremediable narratives in their current condition.'[12]

In 2018, the Chicago Tribune isolated his work as "must see" at the Chicago EXPO and noted that his "paper sculptures are ethereal depictions of a black masculine body, resulting in an anatomical figure made of whimsical, contradictory patterns."[13]

In 2020, The New York Times wrote that his debut New York City solo show "developed a visual language in the rhythms of EKGs. Now, his intricate works on paper take the scalpel to society."[4]

Solo and two person exhibitions
  • 2016 Biological Tapestries 1st Movement, Morton Fine Art, Washington DC[8][6]
  • 2016 Cheryl Derricotte and Nate Lewis: Fragile Vessels, Loyola University, Baltimore, MD[14][15]
  • 2017 Tensions in Tapestries, Morton Fine Art, Washington DC[16][11]
  • 2017 Mosaic Project, Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, Lancaster, PA[5]
  • 2018 Contemporary African Art Fair, Special Projects, Pioneer Works, Brooklyn, NY[17][18][19]
  • 2018 Latent Tensions at Spring Break Art Show, New York City[20][21]
  • 2018 Hidden Tensions, Morton Fine Art, Washington, DC[22]
  • 2019 Armory Show, Fridman Gallery, New York[23]
  • 2020 Solo, Fridman Gallery, New York[4][24]

References
  1. "Nate Lewis – U.S. Department of State". Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  2. "Nate Lewis". Pioneer Works. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  3. "Nate Lewis' Intricate Paper Sculptures Are Informed by What He Learned in Nursing School". Observer. 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  4. Mitter, Siddhartha (2020-03-19). "This Artist Got His Start as an I.C.U. Nurse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  5. Reporter, JANE HOLAHAN | Entertainment. "Mosaic Project artist Nate Lewis uses his experience as a nurse in his art". LancasterOnline. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  6. Carrigan, Margaret (2016-04-15). ""Biological Tapestries" at Morton Fine Art, Reviewed". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  7. "Anti-Trump artist billboards greet presidential candidates in Cleveland". www.theartnewspaper.com. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  8. "From Operating Table to Canvas, Nate Lewis Finds Intricate Art". DCist. Archived from the original on 2019-04-13. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  9. "2016-17 CAPP Acquisitions · Contemporary Art Purchasing Program - Stamp Gallery". contemporaryartumd.artinterp.org. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  10. "The Agora Culture". The Agora Culture. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  11. Jenkins, Mark (2017-04-20). "In the galleries". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  12. Kabra, Fawz (20 March 2020). "Nate Lewis: Irredeemable Narratives, Irreconcilable Ideas". Ocula.
  13. Hawbaker, K. T. "10 must-see galleries at EXPO Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  14. "Past Exhibitions - Julio Fine Arts Gallery - Department of Fine Arts - Loyola University Maryland". www.loyola.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  15. "Fellows in the News | The Gardarev Center". gardarev.org. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  16. "Morton Fine Art Presents Natalie Cheung Increments in Time and Nate Lewis Tensions in Tapestries". East City Art. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  17. "1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair 2018". Pioneer Works. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  18. "Nate Lewis: Cloaked Tensions". Pioneer Works. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  19. "4 Works of Art You Need To See at the New York Edition of 1-54 Contemporary African Fair". OkayAfrica. 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  20. "Watering the Imagination at the Spring Break Art Show". Hyperallergic. 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  21. Indrisek, Scott (2018-03-07). "8 Highlights from the Spring/Break Art Show". Artsy. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  22. Jenkins, Mark (2018-03-20). "In the galleries: A visual rallying cry against gun violence". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  23. "Armory Show Survives Pier Pressure, Sees Big Names and Strong Sales on VIP Day". ARTnews. 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  24. "Nate Lewis: Irredeemable Narratives, Irreconcilable Ideas | Ocula". ocula.com. 2020-04-29. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
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