Norman Lewis (1909 - 1979)

Serpentine (1970), a vibrant canvas of Lewis’ late period, is an energetic composition of crimson hues abuzz against polygonal tiles of cobalt blue that puzzle into the outline of a serpent. Upon closer examination of Serpentine, the forceful dots and lines Lewis employed to break the blue fields suggest his decisive motion. Lewis was publicly recognized by the art critics at the time as an abstract expressionist. Under this wider recognition, Lewis struggled with his invisibility among the white artists. His works received public recognition: Lewis had his one-person debut in 1949 at Willard Gallery; his works were included in the 1951 MoMA exhibition titled Abstract Painting and Sculpture in America; and he won the Popularity Prize at the 1955 Carnegie International Exhibition. He was socially active with other artists of his generation. He attended Studio 35 meetings, organized by Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, and William Baziotes, alongside Ad Reinhardt, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, and Alfred Barr. However, he struggled to be seen as a black artist while recognizing his abstract expressionist identity. Therefore, understanding such struggle, Lewis dedicated much of his time being a mentor to younger artists, providing platforms for their artistic achievement. This painting from Lewis’s later career was painted right after the creation of Cinque Gallery, which was cofounded by Lewis with two other artists—Romare Bearden and Ernest Crichlow. With the aim of supporting young art students and offering a platform and space for them to show their works, Lewis dedicated hours and days to communicating with and engaging with the younger generations. Reading beyond the visual of the simple lines and dots, the composition of each element invites the viewers to reimagine the arrangement in order to experience the crowds of people where their abstracted bodies are simplified and contorted. n this respect, Serpentine represents Lewis’s determination to build communities that assemble individuals into groups for support.

Provenance

The Artist

Norman Lewis Estate, New York, NY Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY

Exhibiton History:

Norman Lewis: Canvas, 12 November 2015 – 13 February 2016, Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY

Selections from the Collection, 15 April – 29 May 2021, Bill Hodges Gallery, New York, NY

Literature

Bill Hodges Gallery, 25 Highly Important Paintings by Norman Lewis, New York, 1998, illus. p. 40

Bill Hodges Gallery, Norman Lewis: A Painter's Odyssey 1935 - 1979, New York, 2009, illus. p. 33

Bill Hodges Gallery, Norman W. Lewis, et al., New York, 2017, illus. p. 17

Bill Hodges Gallery, Masterworks of the African Diaspora, New York, 2023, illus. p. 11