Toronto’s Meredith Keith Gallery will be exhibiting Michael Lewis’s new painting and watercolour series from Jan. 7 to 29, 2011. The opening wine and cheese reception will take place on Fri., Jan. 14 from 6 to 9 p.m.
Michael Lewis’s new art pieces explore the tension between civilized professionalism and wild fantasy. In his series, he juxtaposes images of commonplace institutional locations and museum activities with the curious art objects and mysterious canvases located within. Captivating scenes of popular folklore archetypes such as part-man part-beasts, supernatural creatures, dark forests and witch hunts, stand in stark contrast to the modern environments of restoration rooms and galleries depicted. The tension explored in each image creates work with a contemporary feel and color palette while providing at the same time a primeval atmosphere. His art follows a masculine aesthetic, with muted colors and simple compositions, making it a unique accent for an office or den of a collector with a taste for cultural exploration.
Michael Lewis is a Toronto-based artist educated at the Ontario College of Art and Design and brought up in a cultural family which includes his mother, painter Bonnie Lewis, and his cousins, the fashion designers The Beckermans. His paintings have been collected nationally and internationally, with pieces in the collections of Simon Fraser University and the Art Gallery of Ontario. He has received numerous awards and honours including grants from Canada Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council. His work is the subject of magazine articles in publications, such as Flash Art, Border Crossings and C magazine. Currently his paintings are travelling across Canada in two curated group exhibitions: Logotopia (organized by Cambridge Galleries) and Sorting Daemons (organized by Agnes Etherington Gallery).
Meredith Keith Gallery is located at 1695 Dundas St. W. in Toronto.