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Nathan Lewis is a history painter. His works are epic and his references very direct.
Most people will immediately recognize his monumental Till We Find the Blessed Isles where our Friends Are Dwelling (titled after a line from Nietzsche's Zarathustra ) as a modern remake of Emanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing the Delaware . They might even see themselves in the painting, as these are ordinary Americans, drawn from among the artist's circle of acquaintances, and they are, like most of us, a tad shy of heroic--really just along for the ride. |
Nathan Lewis
THE BLESSED ISLES
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| Friday, February 15–Sunday, March 16, 2008 |
| Opening: |
Friday, February 15, 7–9pm |
| Location: |
487 Driggs Ave, bet N. 9 and N. 10 |
| Directions |
| Hours: |
Thurs–Mon, 12–6pm |
| Contact: |
eva@JackthePelicanPresents.com 718-782-0183 |
| Many of Lewis's paintings are grand in scale. And almost all are depictions of terror--not of an enemy as such, but of our own fundamental impotence in the face of harsh reality, as the corporate and governmental institutions that we historically relied on collapse around us. Pure helplessness. In Aqualung , another of his mammoth works, a whole slew of anguished victims struggle to stay afloat; a radio control tower sinks into the sea. Perhaps it has always been thus. But since 9/11, we identify. Mortality, vulnerability, fear--it is a pervasive state of consciousness. |
The Painted Bird brings it to a more intimate level. It could easily be a scene out of Hitchcock's masterpiece. The phantasmagoric flurry of feathers, claws and beaks turns the sky itself cruel with violence. The paint is toothy and visceral. Up close and personal we see grown men cower. It is so convincingly executed, we can only wince.
This is Nathan Lewis's first New York solo show. In 2006, Benjamin Genocchio reviewed his solo show at Grand Projects in New Haven for The New York Times . He has been in two shows at the Adlrich Contemporary art museum, one at the National Academy of Art in Bulgaria and has shown extensively throughout New England. His only New York appearance was at the Pulse Art Fair with Freight and Volume in 2006. Nathan Lewis received his MFA in 2006 from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts University and his BFA from the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. He also studied at the Florence Academy of Art and in St. Petersburg, Russia. |
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