N a t ha n Lew is : I n Praise of Shad ow s
Nathan Lewis: In Praise of Shadows, represents a chance to view his intense work. With an interest in popular culture turned to the darker side, Lewis provides us a glimpse of the world that many viewers might not know, while others live to the fullest extent every day. The University Art Gallery’s programing helps to support our faculty’s teaching. It is through faculty recommendations that many exhibitions come to our galleries. This exhibition was recommended by my colleague Dan Edwards, who wrote the following about Nathan’s work: Nathan Lewis, who is originally from the Central Valley, has been a friend of mine for over 20 years, since my days in Connecticut. Even though the world knows him as an East Coast artist, I can see the California artist shine through the grayness of his decades-acquired New England coating. We are privileged to be showing Nathan Lewis’s work at CSU Stan because he is a good role model for a solid work ethic, he packs the hours into his epic paintings, and his work is an excellent example of the fundamentals of ambitious picture-making, like scale, narrative, color, composition and completeness. From the stance of revering old master work and art history, Nathan tips his hat often and to a diverse sampling from different cultures and different times, but he has fun doing so, and takes plenty of what he admires with a grain of salt – he is his own artist and abides by his own vision rather than simply emulating the greats from the past as many of his contemporaries do. Nathan’s vision embodies the world we live in today, though he may borrow techniques he has observed from the past to represent it. For those of us who know Nathan on social media, we are treated to all of the highlights from his routine pilgrimages to the many art museums from his travels. He consistently reveals often overlooked passages from well-known art and treats his followers to lesser known gems, and he has cultivated a following of revered professional artists who enjoy the challenge of identifying details from the various works. He is a teacher of artists and it is an honor that he is sharing his work with us at CSU Stan! I am very happy to be able to exhibit Nathan’s work for others to enjoy. I would like to thank the many colleagues that have been instrumental in presenting this exhibition. Nathan Lewis for the chance of exhibiting his wonderful work, Dan Edwards for recommending Nathan’s exhibition, Brad Peatross of the School of the Arts, California State University, Stanislaus for the catalog design and Parks Printing for the printing this catalog. Much gratitude is extended to the Instructionally Related Activates Program of California State University, Stanislaus, as well as anonymous donors for the funding of the exhibition and catalogue. Their support is greatly appreciated.
Dean De Cocker Director, University Art Galleries California State University, Stanislaus
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N a t ha n Lew is C V
E D U C AT I O N 2004
MFA, School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts University, Boston, MA
2000
BFA, Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, Old Lyme, CT
1994
Florence Academy of Art, Painting and Drawing Florence, Italy
1993
St. Petersburg, Russia. Independent study in Painting and Printmaking
SE LE CT E D SO L O E X H IB ITION S 2022
Art Space, California State University Stanislaus, Turlock, CA Nathan Lewis: In Praise of Shadows
2019
Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, FL Invisible Cities: Paintings by Nathan Lewis Jacksonville
2018
Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery, Stamford, CT Visions
2017
Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery, Stamford, CT Nathan Lewis: Mythologies, Fragments, Fiction
2016
Houston Art Fair, Houston, TX Nathan Lewis–solo show
2015
OUMA, Dreams, Discord, and Desire: the paintings of Nathan Lewis Oglethorpe University Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery, Stamford, CT Nathan Lewis–Light is the Lion
2013
Knight Campus Gallery, Community College of Rhode Island, Warwick, RI A Life of Looking: Fred Dalkey and Nathan Lewis (2 person show)
2012
West Cove Studios, West Haven, CT Reading the Ruins Curated by Stephen Kobasa Roger W Rogers Gallery, Willamette University, Salem, OR The Hand that Finds, the Hand that Feeds, the Hand that Fails-Sketchbook Drawings by Nathan Lewis
2011
Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, NY The Paintings of Nathan Lewis
2010
Windsor Art Center, Windsor, CT Where Do We Go From Here? Curated by Marcia Hinkley (2 person show)
2008
Jack the Pelican Presents, Brooklyn, NY The Blessed Isles, the Paintings of Nathan Lewis
SE LE CT E D G ROUP E X H IB ITION S 2021
Spring Break Art Fair, Hearsay/Heresy New York City, NY Emerson Dorsch Gallery NADA Art Fair, Miami, FL, Exile Books and Printed Matter, Historical Correspondence
2020
Lyman Allyn Museum, A Century of Creativity, New London, CT
2019
Yale University, New Haven, CT Complicit: Erasure of the Body At Liberty, Bend, OR Divergence Art Palm Beach, art fair, West Palm Beach, FL
2018
The Gallery at the Visual & Performing Arts Center, Real/Unreal: Realism Now, Curated by Jane Rainwater, Western Connecticut State University, CT The Bridge Hampton Museum, Hampton Art Fair, Bridgehampton, NY
2017
Seeing Things Gallery, Marks, Curated by Andy Jenkins San Jose, CA Dehn Gallery, Connecticut Printmaking Invitational, Curated by Pay Fahy, Jane Rainwater and Krista Narcisco, Manchester, CT
2016
Real Art Ways, Multiple Impressions, Curated by John O’Donnel, Hartford, CT Art Palm Beach, art fair, Palm Beach, FL Context Art Miami, art fair, Miami, FL Kondos Art Gallery, 100 Years, 100 Artists, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA
2015
Housatonic Museum, Bridgeport, CT Remythologies: New Inventions of Old Stories, Curated by Stephen V. Kobasa
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2014
The Dishman Museum, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX, Mark(ing) Time-New Dimensions in Drawing Cate Charles Gallery, Providence, RI Group Exhibition
2013
Salem Art Association, Salem, OR Divergent Strategies curated by Andries Fourie
2012
Connecticut Office of the Arts, Hartford, CT Individual/Common
2011
The John Slade Ely House Center for Contemporary Art, Extraordinary Facilities, New Haven, CT Gregory Kondos Gallery, Homecoming, curated by Chris Daubert, Sacramento, CA
2010
West Cove Studios, Line Dancing curated by Stephen Kobasa 4/10, West Haven, CT
2009
The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT Full Circle Curated by Regine Basha Exhhibition
2008
Artspace, New Haven, CT Conncentric curated by Liza Statton Mattatuck Museum of Art, Waterbury, CT CT Biennial curated by Janice LaMotta
2007
South Shore Arts Center, Paint, international juried show, Juried by Gerry Bergstein. Cohasset, MA Alexey Von Schlippe Gallery, Cultural Identity, New London, CT Curated by Brad Guarino.
2006
Pulse Art Fair, New York, NY, Freight & Volume Gallery The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, ‘Aldrich Undercover ‘, Ridgefield, CT The National Academy of Art, Bulgaria, Cultural Identity, Sofia, Bulgaria, Curated by Brad Guarino
2005
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT Radius Boston Center for the arts, Mills gallery, Boston, MA 19th Annual Drawing Show Curated Denise Markonich
SE LE CT E D PR E S S / WORK P UB L IS H E D The New York Times The Art of Nathan Lewis -Basic Instinct: Doing What Artists Do, by Benjamin Genocchio NYC, NY The Huffington Post, Nathan Lewis at Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery, interview with John Seed New York Times, Celebrating a Decade of Nurturing Artists on the Verge by Susan Hodara New York Press, The Art of Stuff review and interview by Julia Morton NYC, New York Boston Globe, work featured and reviewed on front page of arts section by Christine Temin Arts Atlanta, Nathan Lewis Yields Art as Cudgel, at Oglethorpe Museum, by Jerry Cullum Fine Art Connoisseur, Artists Making Their Mark by Peter Trippi Art in New England, A Life of Looking: Nathan Lewis & Fred Dalkey, by Stephen Kobasa Hartford Courant, Opioid: Express Yourself, by Susan Dunne The Painter’s Table, Nathan Lewis: Reading the Ruins New Haven Register, the Real/Unreal International Artist Magazine, published in association with exhibition at Vose Gallery, Boston, MA R E SI D E NCI E S , G RAN TS & AWARD S URCG Grant for study in Japan URCG Grant for study in France and Belgium Barbara Ritzman Devereux Visiting Artist Award, Jacksonville, FL Goodman Banks Artist in Residence, Kingswood Oxford, West Hartford, CT CT Commission of Arts fellowship, 2 Grants for Painting Weir Farm, Full Residency Vermont Studio Center, 2 Full fellowships Johnson, VT Eitel & Frances Groeschke Award, National Arts Club, New York, NY Weiss Sisters Awards (2), John Slade Ely Center for Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT
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Ackn ow le dge m en ts
California State University, Stanislaus Dr. Ellen Junn, President Dr. Kimberly Greer, Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. James A. Tuedio, Dean, College of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Depar tment of Ar t Martin Azevedo, Associate Professor, Chair Tricia Cooper, Lecturer Dean De Cocker, Professor James Deitz, Lecturer Daniel Edwards, Associate Professor Patrica Eshagh, Lecturer Jessica Gomula-Kruzic, Professor Daniel Heskamp, Lecturer Chad Hunter, Lecturer Dr. Carmen Robbin, Professor Ellen Roehne, Lecturer Dr. Staci Scheiwiller, Associate Professor Susan Stephenson, Associate Professor Jake Weigel, Associate Professor Mirabel Wigon, Assistant Professor Meg Broderick, Administrative Support Assistant II Kyle Rambatt, Equipment Technician II
University Ar t Galleries Dean De Cocker, Director
School of the Ar ts Brad Peatross, Graphic Specialist II
Nathan Lewis - In Praise of Shadows February 10–March 11, 2022 | Stan State Art Space, California State University, Stanislaus | 226 N. First St., Turlock, CA 95380 300 copies printed. Copyright © 2022 California State University, Stanislaus • ISBN 978-1-940753-64-5 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the publisher. This exhibition and catalog have been funded by Associated Students Instructionally Related Activities, California State University, Stanislaus.
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