Tau Lewis
 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (May 2021) |
Tau Lewis | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 31, 1993 |
| Website | https://taulewis.com/tau-lewis |
Tau Lewis (born 1993 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Jamaican-Canadian artist working in a variety of mediums including hand-sewn, carved, and assemblage pieces.[1][2]
Artistic practice[edit]
Lewis's practice works with found materials, including seashells and fabric scraps. Much of her work focuses on the experiences of the African diasporic community.[3] She uses recycling because it is circular and has roots in her ancestry.[4] Lewis's earlier work used materials such as “wood, scrap metal, cement, wire, plaster, stones, paint cans, chains and rebar, her latest work relaxes further into fabric.”[4] Using the globally sourced materials she creates a sense of community and ancestry in the work.[5] Lewis's use of reclaimed scraps and materials connects with histories of resourcefulness and is environmentally conscious, which she tries to keep in their found states.[6][7]
In 2018, Lewis was awarded the Frieze Frame Stand Prize for her solo presentation with Cooper Cole Gallery at Frieze New York City, USA.[8]
Tau Lewis is represented by Night Gallery, Los Angeles,[9] and Stephen Freidman Gallery, London, UK.[10]
Selected Works[edit]
the sighting of the last shadow dweller (original sea kin) (2018)[edit]
Lewis's twelve-foot-long quilt consists of hand-stitched materials including leather and reclaimed fabric.[11] The materials are stitched together irregularly with no uniform shape or pattern, with the blue color and natural form creating an "apparent visual reference to water and aquatic systems."[6]
T.A.U.B.I.S. (2020)[edit]
Part of a 2020 exhibition at Toronto art gallery Cooper Cole, Lewis's use of "hand-sewn sculptural textiles reflect on non-gendered motherhood and gardens as sources of knowledge and growth."[12] This work is part of Lewis's ongoing use of upcycled and reclaimed household textiles for sculptural production, created with a range of materials from recycled and hand dyed fabrics, recycled leather, cotton batting, beads, acrylic paint, PVA, glue, metal hoop skirt, and pipes, to sea shells.[12][5]
Mater Dei (2022)[edit]
This sculptural work was created for Vox Populi, Vox Dei, a 2022 exhibition at New York gallery 52 Walker. The work's title, translating to "mother of god," connects to the exhibition's goal of creating a space for contemplation and exploration of spirituality.[7] This mask alongside its five other co-displayed pieces are based off of Yoruba religious masks. [13]
Public Collections[edit]
All collection information found on Tau Lewis' official website
- Grinnell College Museum of Art, Grinnell, IA
- Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
- Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, Miami, FL
- The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, QC, Canada
- National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art Library Collection, New York, NY
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, CA
- Library and Achieves Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Exhibitions[edit]
In 2018, Lewis had her first institutional solo exhibition in Canada in the Agnes Etherington Art Centre.[1] In 2021 Lewis' sculpture "Symphony" was exhibited in the Rotunda of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa as part of its Contemporary Projects series.[3]
All exhibitions taken from Lewis' official website.
Solo & Duo Exhibitions[edit]
- 2016 - foraged, ain't free, The Pendulum Project, 223a, Toronto, ON, Canada
- 2017 -cyphers, tissue, blizzards, exile, 8-11 Gallery, Toronto, ON, Canada
- 2017 - Through the people we are looking at ourselves, Cooper Cole, Toronto, ON, Canada (two person)
- 2018 - Tau Lewis, Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta, GA
- 2018 - making it work to be together while we can, Jeffery Stark, New York, NY
- 2018 - Cheyenne Julien and Tau Lewis, Chapter NY, New York, NY (two person)
- 2018 - when you last found me here, The Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, ON, Canada
- 2018 - I bet this cave has been here for a really long time, Shoot the Lobster, New York, NY
- 2019 - I heard a heartbeat down in the black hole, Cordova, Barcelona, Spain, (two person)
- 2019 - I'm countin on you to ground me again, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 2019 - when you last found me here, Kenderine Art Gallery, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada
- 2019 - The Coral Reef Preservation Society, Yorkshire Sculpture International at The Hepworth Wakefield, Yorkshire, UK
- 2020 - Sparkle's Map Home, Oakville Galleries, Oakville, ON, Canada
- 2020 - Triumphant Alliance of the Ubiquitous Blossoms of Incarnate Souls, Cooper Cole, Toronto, ON, Canada
- 2021 - Symphony, The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- 2022 - Vox Populi, Vox Dei, 52 Walker, New York, NY
- 2023 - Tau Lewis, Institute of Contemporary Art Miami (ICA Miami), Miami, FL
Awards[edit]
- 2017 - The Hynatyshyn Foundation's William and Meredith Saunderson Prize for Emerging Artists
- 2018 - Frieze Frame Stand Prize, Cooper Cole solo presentation, Frieze, New York
- 2023 - Ezratti Family Prize for Sculpture, Institute of Contemporary Art Miami (ICA Miami), Miami, FL
All awards taken from Tau Lewis' official website.
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Tau Lewis: when last you found me here". Agnes Etherington Art Centre. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "Tau Lewis". The Hepworth Wakefield. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Tau Lewis: Symphony". National Gallery of Canada. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Groundations". Canadian art.
- ^ a b "Suspended Blossoms and Patchwork Characters Imagine a Pastel Universe of Overabundance". Colossal. 30 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Tau Lewis: I Bet This Cave Has Been Here for a Really Long Time". The Brooklyn Rail. 11 December 2018.
- ^ a b Greenberger, Alex (December 9, 2022). "Tau Lewis's Beguiling Sculptures Allow Her to Commune with Spirits". ARTnews. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "A Conversation with Tau Lewis".
- ^ "NIGHT GALLERY TO REPRESENT TAU LEWIS".
- ^ "Latest News in Black Art: Tau Lewis Joins Stephen Friedman Gallery, Christopher Blay Named Chief Curator at Houston African American Museum, Housing Gallery Receives Armory Show's Gramercy International Prize". 25 July 2021.
- ^ "The sighting of the last shadow dweller (original sea kin), 2018". Cooper Cole.
- ^ a b "Tau Lewis at COOPER COLE". Art viewer.
- ^ Bansinath, Bindu (2022-12-19). "'Spirits Just Want To Be Seen'". The Cut. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
External links[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- 1993 births
- Living people
- Artists from Toronto
- Canadian women sculptors
- Feminist artists
- Canadian contemporary artists
- Contemporary sculptors
- Canadian queer artists
- Queer feminists
- Canadian people of Jamaican descent
- Canadian LGBT artists
- Black Canadian women
- Black Canadian LGBT people
- Black Canadian artists
- 21st-century Canadian women artists
- 21st-century Canadian LGBT people