Lewis Coleman is an abstract artist who creates steel sculpture and mixed media pieces which incorporate her own abstract, automatic writing. Her works reflect ongoing exploration into the aesthetics of using language in art. Lewis focuses on developing text as a visual design element. This is in contrast to most conceptual artists that incorporate text into their work as a means of making social and political commentary or for analyzing popular culture. Lewis is an award winning artist who has exhibited widely in museums and galleries across the country. She studied art at the New York School of Design in New York City and at Parsons. Lewis is a juried member of the Women’s Caucus for Art, the National Association of Women Artists, and the Silvermine Guild of Artists. She’s particularly inspired by Asian art and has studied the intricate calligraphy used to decorate ancient scrolls and screens. Originally, her invented languages were painted on paper, which were cut out and then applied to a painted canvas.
But as her work progressed, she’s continued to develop new characters by deconstructing and reconstructing her original text to create languages which are visually more complex and richer. More recently, she’s extended this process by incorporating “Mandalas” into her art. There are circular forms which were originally used by the Hindus and Buddhists as focal points for their meditation. Lewis believes that the languages have an almost mystical and ancient quality. She also believes that because her artwork communicates in the abstract, individual viewers are not forced to translate it specifically. This allows them to take away their own unique messages on a subconscious level and to “feel” the energy of each piece.
