Dale Lewis
Lewis' figurative, mural-scale works are explicitly influenced by the symbolic conventions and compositional drama of Medieval and Renaissance painting, wherein the plane is dominated by the dynamic intertwining of bodies and punctuated by emblematic tokens of sin, virtue and status.
This is combined with the artist's personal encounters and acute eye for the everyday human dramas that play out in the urban environments he frequents, and filtered through a distinct authorial subject position as a white, gay male of working-class upbringing possessing the satirical, good-natured-but-brutal sense of humour that characterizes much British creative output.
The result is a visual language equal parts Martin Parr meets Chris Morris, Rembrandt-cum-Basquiat; plausibly grotesque, amplified to absurdity, narrative-laden and energetically complex.
Born in London, 1980. Lives and works in London.
EDUCATION
2006 University of Brighton, Grand Parade, Brighton, East Sussex BN1, MA Fine Art
2002 London Guildhall University, London EC3N 2EY, BA (Hons) Fine Art
2000 Liverpool John Moores University, BA Fashion and Textiles
SOLO Exhibitions
2023
- SWEET AND SOUR, CHOI&CHOI Gallery, Seoul, KR
2022
- The Great Day - Art Matters, Hangzhou, China
2021
- No Place Like Home, Block 336, London, UK
2020
- The Great Day, Edel Assanti, London, UK
2018
- Free Range, Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, US
- Fat, Sugar, Salt, Edel Assanti, London, UK
2017
- Iconoclasts: Art out of the Mainstream, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
- Full English, Anna Zorina Gallery, New York, NY, US
- Dale Lewis, Art Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Figure Out, Union Gallery, London, UK
- Jerwood Painting Fellowship, Norwich University of the Art, Norwich, UK
2016
- Dale Lewis, NADA, New York, NY, US
- Dale Lewis, Edel Assanti, London, UK
- Hope Street, Choi and Lager Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
- Memento, Sixty Six, London, UK
- MacArthur Park, Cromwell Place in association with Ridley Road Project Space, curated by Will Ballantyne-Reid, London, UK
- FLOWER, CHOI&CHOI Gallery, Seoul
2021
- The day I saw you: Portraits from the AMMA Collection, Museo de la Cancillería, Mexico City, Mexico
2020
- Friends and Friends of Friends, curated by Oli Epp, Schlossmuseum, Linz, Austria
- Crowd, Hannah Barry Gallery, London, UK
- Ridiculous, Elephant West, London, UK
2018
- Entrance Installation, Times Square Space,1500 Broadway, New York, NY, US
- Parallel Realities, Galerie Division, Montreal, QC, Canada
2016
- Mixed Signals, Christian Larsen Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
- Jerwood Painting Fellowship, Jerwood Visual Arts, London, UK
2015
- New London Figurative, Charlie Smith London, London, UK
- Summer Show, Turps Gallery, London, UK
- Spring Show, No.4A, Malvern Hills, Worcestershire, UK
- Art Car Boot Fair, London, UK
- The Future Can Wait, Art Bermondsey Project Space, London, UK
2014
- A Remembered Dream, The Invisible Line, London, UK TIAF, The Rag Factory, London, UK
2012
- To Your Health, Lomography Gallery Store, London, UK
2011
- Heroes and Villains, The VZ Gallery, London, UK
2009
- Drawing, Magatzems, Valencia, Spain
- Drench/Absorb, Oblong Gallery, London, UK
2008
- In War at War, Art Space, Chicago, Illinois, US
2007
- Possible Preparation, Grey Area Gallery, Brighton, UK
2006
- Giving Birth to Monsters, University of Brighton Gallery, Brighton, UK
2005
- Erotica, The Basement, Brighton, UK
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2020 Block 336, residency, London, UK
2019 Art Athina, residency, Athens, Greece
2018 Arsenal Montreal, residency, Montreal, QC, Canada
2017 Zabludowicz Collection, residency, New York, US
2016 Jerwood Painting Fellowship, Jerwood Arts, London, UK
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
By Art Matters, Hangzhou, China
Fundacion AMMA, Mexico
The Arsenal, Montreal, Canada
David Roberts Art Foundation, London, UK
Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Zabludowicz Collection, London, UK
Hort Foundation, New York, USA
Space K Kolon, Seoul, South Korea
Afternoon Tea I 2023, Oil on canvas, 200 x 340 cm
Flat Iron I 2023, Oil on canvas, 200 x 340 cm
Tea and Toast I 2023, Oil on canvas, 200 x 340 cm
Shells I 2022, Oil on canvas, 200 x 170 cm
Cigar Bar I 2022, Oil on canvas, 200 x 170 cm
Weeds I 2023, Oil on canvas, 200 x 170 cm
Hope Street | 2016, Oil, Acrylic and Spray Paint on Canvas, 200x400 cm
Pepperoni | 2016, Oil, Acrylic and Spray Paint on Canvas, 200x400 cm
Coq au vin | 2016, Oil, Acrylic and Spray Paint on Canvas, 200x400 cm
Three Kings | 2017, Oil, Acrylic and Spray Paint on Canvas, 200x400 cm
Shrine | 2016, Oil, Acrylic and Spray Paint on Canvas, 200x400 cm
Bow Belle | 2017, Oil, Acrylic and Spray Paint on Canvas, 200x400 cm
Champagne | 2017, Oil, Acrylic and Spray Paint on Canvas, 200x400 cm
Liver & Bacon | 2017, Oil, Acrylic and Spray Paint on Canvas, 200x400 cm
Smoking Kills I 2023, Oil on canvas, 200 x 170 cm
