Solo exhibition

Jacques (Pink and Purple Paintings for My Dad)

Spencer LewisHarper’s, New YorkJune 30 – August 13, 2022

Large colour abstractions on jute at Harper’s Chelsea — lavenders and pinks against the fibre’s earthy tones, with one small painted face. The fifth show in a series named for the artist’s father. Text by Darla Migan.

The traditional burlap bag made of jute is still used to transport agricultural products planted and harvested by slaves, convict labor, and low-wage workers to this day, a material course to the touch. But Lewis gently brushes his own jute to create a soft, fuzzy surface by lifting the fibers up from their matted form. The result of this process brings to mind the fineness of a cashmere sweater or the way that my own natural hair feels when I’m carefully maintaining the health of my mane. Overall, as with Lewis’s chosen surface, humans and objects may not always immediately reveal the wealth of their capacities for both beauty and pleasure.

From the text by Dr. Darla Migan, Harper’s, New York, 2022. Read the full press release

Installation views

The shared syllable between violet and violence allows the painter to challenge his canvases to new duels with his own creative force. What then is ultra-violet to ultra-violence?
Darla Migan, Harper’s, 2022