The Closing Reception Opened New Exhibition Possiblilities

Visitors at the Westbesuch 2014 in front Westwerk- Plagwitz, Leipzig

The "Meta-Triptychs" closing reception was a great success.  Hundreds of people poured into the Webervogel from 11 AM to 9 PM.  They made their way back to Catherine Chalk's newly opened weaving factory during their stroll through the Westbesuch event or were purposefully seeking out the lady who is bringing the textile industry back to Leipzig's cultural centre- Plagwitz.  Having my paintings exhibited there during this event was perfect.  So many people came and saw the work.  It was wonderful to talk to them and hear their reactions to the work.  Some shared their interpretations, opinions and even memories that the images conjured up.

 It was amazing how the flow of people followed a constant pattern.  It seemed there would be five walking in and then they would be followed by 20 or 30 rushing behind.  This went on all day.  After 6 PM the reception started and many that I invited came to celebrate with me. 

 The best part was speaking with people about exhibition possibilities later this year.  One in a language school, one in a soon to be opening arts centre outside Leipzig, and one in an art gallery in Plagwitz, Leipzig.  I was excited with the first, by the third I just wanted to jump for joy!  It has been a long time working without showing.  This has been such a great year so far.

The success of this show, the reaction to my work, and three exhibition proposals make my trip home to America so much more exciting.  I have already been planning ideas for new paintings and trying to figure out all the studies I would like to do while back in the States.  Now there is a new surge of energy making me want to take full advantage of my stay.  What stories can I tell, which locations and people can I include, what small details can I hide around the corners or behind the trees.  The beaches and shore spots are on my list.  Philadelphia, Jersey City or Hoboken, a trip to Rutgers in New Brunswick, a ride around my home town of Dividing Creek, I can not wait to get out, sketch and record places that I can use in the paintings.  I want to get in touch with my former art teachers to go out sketching and talk to them about my new work and plans for the next pieces.

I need to do more research on Edward Hopper.  Several people have mentioned his work while looking at mine.  The Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC has the largest collection of his paintings and drawings.  I want to go study his painted surfaces and the brush techniques that are not apparent in reproductions or online.  I want to note his use of light and dark and the soft edges of the forms.  I read that he had his first break at the age of 42, so perhaps this shows it is not too late for me.  It has been quite intense over the

 (Many thanks go out to a dear friend for the photos & videos.)

Writing a Press Release for "Meta-triptychs"

I decided to try again to have an exhibition written about in my home-town paper.  I will let you know how it goes this time.

PRESS RELEASE

STEVE LEWIS art exhibition, "Meta-Triptychs"

Organized by: Webervogel
Exhibition at : Karl-Heine-Str. 93b (Westwerk)
  Leipzig, Germany

June 5 - 25,  2014
Opening Times:  9:00 AM-5:00 PM weekdays
Reception: June 21, 2014
Opening Times:  6:00-9:00 PM

In Leipzig, Germany on June 21, 2014 the Reception of "Meta-Triptychs" by Steve Lewis will be held at Webervogel from 6-9PM.

Steve Lewis, who was born and raised in Dividing Creek, New Jersey and now resides in Leipzig, has been invited to exhibit paintings during the grand opening of a new weaving factory in the art district of Leipzig, which was formerly known for the textile industry in East Germany.   Lewis first moved to Leipzig in 1994 after graduating from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University.  He was under the tutorage of Judy Scull at Bridgeton High until he graduated in 1990 and studied oil painting with Elsie Donaghay in Cedarville as a child.  The show opened on June 5 and runs until June 25.

Lewis had been invited to display his work after previously exhibiting three paintings in a 24 hour group exhibition in April called "Optimaler Schnitt." The paintings are the first of a series of what he is calling meta-triptychs.  Each painted composition focuses on 3 visual elements or narratives within one scene. The paintings are planned in a manner whereby the viewer feels as though they are part of the environment or could easily imagine stepping into the scene – where they become part of the narrative for that moment and begin to contemplate what to do next.


More information can be found at:  Artist-Teacher-HERE.blogspot.com

Reflecting on the Year After the Artist Teacher Workshop

Back in May 2013, for professional development, the Leipzig International School sent me on a course called "Artist Teacher Workshop" at La Vigna Art Studios in Pisa, Italy.  The course was designed and run by Heather McReynolds, an IB Visual Arts Examiner.  The main focus of the workshop was to rejuvenate the artist within art teachers and help them realize the benefits of being an artist teacher who teaches by example in the classroom.  The course was wonderful.  Heather was so inspiring, encouraging, and generous with her knowledge.  It has changed how I see myself as a teacher but more importantly it has made me realize I need to rediscover myself as an artist.

After returning to LIS and starting the school year of 2013/14, I thought about ways of making good on the professional development and keeping the energy felt while on the workshop alive.  How could making art more regularly help my students?  My grade 11 IB Art class has been a great encouragement.  By meeting their deadlines for critiques and sketchbook entries I was able to grow artistically along with the group and lead by example.  Grade 9 IGCSE used my new work to practice written analysis and we traded linoleum prints.  I collaboratively worked with grade 10 and 12 students on their ideas and created work that demonstrated possible solutions.  I even attended drawing classes with a few grade 12 IB Art students.  Becoming an artist teacher has been very positive in the classroom.

The blog I started, Artist-Teacher-HERE.blogspot.com, allows me to record the steps taken to stay artistically productive and to share images of the art works when they are completed.  Producing my own art again has been vital to me feeling complete and has strengthened my teaching.  The highlights of the year have been working on a series of new paintings exhibited at a 24 hour group exhibition called Optimaler Schnitt in April and exhibiting  at Webervogel and Linguarama in June.  I can not thank LIS enough for supporting me as a teacher and valuing me as an artist.  This year, I have undergone a great transformation and I am looking forward to being an artist teacher next year, sharing all the benefits that may come in and outside the classroom.

 

Exhibition view at Webervogel, Leipzig.  Running June 5 - 25, 2014

Inviting You to My Art Exhibition- Steve Lewis: Meta-triptychs

Searching for the Next Show Opportunity

Since taking down the Optimal Schnitt show in April, I have been trying to sort out the next show.  It was so important to have that deadline.  I searched on wooloo.org for open calls to artists.  I was pleased to discover an opportunity right here in Leipzig!

The Kunst Kraft Werk (Art Power Station) had an open call for exhibitions to start in 2015.  The deadline was on May 1st.  I worked the week after Easter holidays on the proposal.  It was great to get the CV ready and concentrate on thinking about a site specific exhibition for the KKW.  The factory is at the moments being cleared out and will be renovated to house the art exhibition space.

 

My proposal for the KKW was similar to the work described for the “Optimaler Schnitt” exhibition but on a grand scale.  I proposed to immediately visit the space in order to experience first hand the remnants of its past, hopefully before the renovation process is completed.  By visually documenting the building’s halls, passageways, dark corners, both interior and exterior via photographic means as well as sketches and quick paintings, I would hope to realize the essence of the space.  I desire inspiration from its vacant obsoleteness for still moments that can be explored visually in a series of painted meta-triptychs.  I can imagine work that is specific to the space in terms of scale and rendered form.  A series of paintings focusing on three narratives where we see lonely explorers in the abandoned space, figures overcome and “swallowed into” the “rough atmosphere” of the space, and figures triumphantly revitalizing their environment.  These paintings exhibited within the very same space would allow the viewer to see past its renovated version and experience its former neglected period consumed by time’s natural decay.

I was excited after coming across the KKW Open Call 2015 on WOOLOO.org because of it possibly being the next step forward in terms of my current transition from art teacher to artist-teacher and establishing myself as an artist.  I feel a strong symbolic connection between the transformation of the former power plant into an experimental factory for art and my own artistic development.  This blog, Artist-Teacher-HERE.blogspot.com, presents the journey I began last June at the Artist-Teacher-Workshop in Pisa.  I saw an exhibition at the KKW as an opportunity to not only display my work, but metaphorically express my transformation via visual images inspired by the power plant, all of which would have been documented through postings on the blog.  The process of making the work would have become part of the art itself.  Links to updates could have been added to the KKW site during the production of studies through to the completion of the artwork that would have been exhibited.

To encourage other art teachers to rejuvenate their own artistic endeavours, I would have offered an artist talk and workshops.  I envisioned giving an informative artist talk open to the public about my work and also share my personal experiences about the value of becoming an artist-teacher.  I also proposed a separate series of workshops that would allow for art teachers to jump-start their own art making in and outside the classroom. This could have initiated further programs for local art teachers. Helping them redefine their position to that of the artist guiding students by example is the first step to them rediscovering their own artistic self and fulfilling their creative desires.

 

Applicants were notified about the decisions on May 15th.  Unfortunately my application was not one of those accepted.  There were over 300 applications for only 6 spots in the year.  14 applicants were selected to take part in the 2015 calendar.  The experience of getting the proposal together and sent off was great.  It also forced me to get my CV and Artist Biography up to date.  I am ready for the next application. 

Writing a Press Release for my Home Town Paper

 I thought it would be nice to let the folks at home know what was going on as well.  I wrote to the The Daily Journal, the local paper where I grew up, and asked if they might be interested.  I got a response and was told to send more information and a picture.  I can't wait for my father to come across this as he is reading the morning paper!  I have not told him about it yet so please don't ruin the surprise!

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PRESS RELEASE

24 Hour Show:  Optimal Cut

Organized by: GallerieRieRiemann,

Exhibition at : 88 Hermann-Liebmann St.,

  Leipzig, Germany

April 12, 2014

Opening Times:  24 hours, Midnight to Midnight

This coming Friday is set-up day for a 24 hour group art exhibition in Leipzig, Germany.  The title of the show is Optimaler Schnitt (or Optimal Cut).  Steve Lewis, who was born and raised in Dividing Creek, New Jersey and now resides in Leipzig, is one of the artists who has been invited to participate.  Lewis first moved to Leipzig in 1994 after graduating from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University.  He was under the tutorage of Judy Scull at Bridgeton High until he graduated in 1990 and studied oil painting with Elsie Donaghay in Cedarville as a child.  The show opens on Saturday, April 12^th, 2014.  The exhibition officially runs for 24 hours from midnight to midnight.

Lewis has been allocated a space to display his new paintings, which he began to paint in early February.  The paintings are the first of a series of what he is calling meta-triptychs. Each of these paintings include 3 narratives within one scene. The compositions are arranged in a manner whereby the viewer feels as though they are part of the environment or could easily imaging stepping into the scene – where they become part of the narrative for that moment and begin to contemplate what to do next.

The exhibition will be held in a 5 story apartment building which was last inhabited probably 5 to 10 years ago.  The rooms still look as they did when they were occupied.  The room Lewis selected seems to have been last used as a baby's room (the wallpaper design and growth marks on the door frame are evidence).  The three paintings that he has completed for this show have images of children that are central to one of the narratives depicted in each scene.

More information can be found at:  Artist-Teacher-HERE.blogspot.com

In Between Time, oil on canvas, 75x160 cm, 2014.

Getting Ready for the "Optimaler Schnitt" Exhibition

Since February I have been working on 4 paintings for the "Optimaler Schnitt" exhibition.  This coming Friday is set-up day and then the show opens on Saturday, April 12th.  The exhibition officially runs for 24 hours from midnight to midnight.  I am happy to have finished 3 of the 4 works so far.  I knew that the space I had been allocated would hold 3 paintings nicely and this was the target I wanted to reach.

The exhibition will be held in a 5 story apartment building which was last inhabited probably 5 to 10 years ago.  The rooms still look as they did when they were occupied.  The room I selected seems to have been last used as a baby's room (the wallpaper design and growth marks on the door frame tipped me off).  It is interesting to think that the child who slept there is now maybe 10 years old.  The three paintings that I have completed for this show have images of children that are central to one of the narratives depicted in each scene.

These paintings are to be the first of a series of what I am calling meta-triptychs.  I came up with this idea after reading about metamodernism and the Notes on Metamodernism by Timotheus Vermeulen and Robin van den Akker.  Each of these paintings presents a single scene in which 3 narratives are playing out, all of which are in a state of flux.  The composition may also be arranged in a manner whereby the viewer feels as though they are part of the environment or could easily imaging stepping into the scene – where they become part of the narrative for that moment and begin to contemplate what to do next.

I am really looking forward to this 24 hour show.  It will be the first time exhibiting since I attended the Artist Teacher Workshop and the first time showing my new work with the meta-triptychs.  I hope the show is successful.  That being said, no matter how it goes on Saturday, completing at least 3 new works means that for me it has already been a success!

In Between Time, oil on canvas, 75x160 cm, 2014.

Liberty, oil on canvas, 160x145 cm, 2014.

His GTO, the Raccoon, and You, oil on canvas, 105x160 cm, 2014.

Exhibition space, room 409, awaiting installation.

Exhibition Poster.