Jennifer Lewis

Jennifer Lewis creates richly detailed paintings in which human figures merge with patterns to create a mystical world. The inspiration for much of her imagery comes from the colours, textures, history, religion and folk law of Africa and the Caribbean. Her first collection was produced after a visit to her ancestral home of St Vincent in the Caribbean. Influenced by the richness and beauty of the culture, she produced canvases that were both detailed and sculptural, each piece using acrylic, watercolour, relief, print, collage, gold and silver leaf to weave a story around a central theme. This collection became her first exhibition at the Chalk Farm Gallery in London.

More recently her work has explored a passage of time, telling the stories that have taken place in a dream framework. They capture a particular moment: a memory of a place, an image, or an emotion once experienced and now recorded on canvas. She is interested in the connection between the physical and spiritual world, and how we may slip between the two. This was the work that influences her solo exhibition, “Life’s Rich Patterns”, which launched the opening of the Stephen Lawrence Gallery in London in May 2000. This exhibition opened with the unveiling of her specially commissioned portrait of Doreen and Stephen Lawrence, which remains on permanent display at the Gallery. She has also exhibited at the Lethaby Gallery in London, the Huyton Gallery in Liverpool, and was an artist in residence at Halewood Comprehensive School as part if the Liverpool Biennial Contemporary Art. Her work has been published as limited edition prints and cards.

Jennifer began her career as a commercial artist in the mid-Eighties when she designed backdrops and promotional materials for the underground club scene and worked on music videos as a fashion stylist and set designer. In 1986 she joined the group Soul II Soul as a designer, and was Artistic Co-ordinator of their 1990/91 World Tour. Jennifer is also interested in ceramics and jewellery, and graduated from Central St Martin’s in 1997 with a degree in jewellery design. There is evidence of both the delicacy of jewellery and the sculptural qualities of ceramics in her paintings.

Jennifer has a wide experience of working as an artist in community settings, and teaches workshops in jewellery design, ceramics, mosaic, papier-machet, costume design and painting. She has led workshops at a number of prestigious London museums, galleries and festivals, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Bank and Guildhall Universities, International Greenwich and Docklands Festival and the Thames Festival. She will soon be working on light sculptures for the National Gallery and will be leading workshops at the Portobello Festival. Jennifer has travelled extensively in the Caribbean, West Africa, Japan, Australia, North America and Europe. Most recently she has travelled to the Gambia and Senegal in order to develop work and international links with local artists and designers. Jennifer is currently working towards exhibitions to be held in St Lucia, St Vincent and Barbados.