Opening Reception for Anthony Lewis at Harbison Theatre - Friday, March 1st

Anthony Lewis at Harbison Theatre Gallery

  • Friday, March 1, 2024

  • 6:30 PM 8:30 PM

  • Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College7300 College Street

  • Irmo, SC

Join The Jasper Project and Anthony Lewis as we celebrate the opening of his exhibition in the gallery space at Harbison Theatre. 
 
At 6:30 PM, Anthony will speak briefly and give you the opportunity to enjoy his work prior to the opening curtain for The String Queens. During intermission, you’re invited to revisit the art and speak with Anthony individually. His artwork will be available for purchase. Learn more about Anthony and his work below.

The exhibition is free and available for viewing from March through May 2024.

About Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis is a South Carolina based abstract figurative painter and photographer. Lewis studied at the School of Visual Art and Design where he graduated from the University of South Carolina with his Bachelor of Fine Arts, Studio Art with a concentration on painting.  

Anthony, a multi-disciplined visual artist, likes to explore the good the bad and the injustices around the black folks' experience in the United States such as, mass incarceration, black on black crime, police brutality, mental health, suicide, the beauty of being black and the everyday struggles of the black man, woman, and child dating back to the early 1900s throughout the great black migration, Harlem Renaissance and well up into the 70s.  He enjoys the concept of being able to travel back in time and capture the being of black folk. 

He likes the use of different techniques and mediums such as acrylic, oil, charcoal, mixed-media, assemblage, and black and white film photography. He merges small scale vintage black and white photographs and larger scale paintings of black people in his paintings to form a collage. He enjoys the exploration of the creative process so he can stretch the limits of his ingenuity, flexibility and mediums needed to be successful during the process. He admires the thought of not being confined in an innovative box.  

Artist Statement

As a visual artist, I like to explore the good the bad and the injustices around the black folks’ experiences, such as, mass incarceration, black on black crime, police brutality, mental health, suicide, and the beauty of being black and the everyday struggles of the black man, woman, and child. His African American men and women dating back the early 1900's, the Black Migration, and the Harlem Renaissance. 

I have always enjoyed thinking about what my life would have been like if I could time travel and live in a different time and place, how I would have existed, loved, struggled, and breathed in another climate, so I named this series, “Blk Beingz-Essence of Matter’ as a need to revisit the existence of black children from different times in the past, like the renaissance era, slavery, the early 1900s and the great migration. 

This series will introduce you to the work I have done over the course of my BFA program at the University of South Carolina. This body of work includes different techniques and mediums such as oil, graphite, mixed media, collage, assemblage, black and white photos. 

I enjoy the exploration of the creative process so I can stretch the limits of my ingenuity, flexibility and mediums needed to be successful during the process. I also admire the thought of not being confined to an innovative box. 

Some of Anthony’s influences are, but not limited to, Jacob Lawrence, Gordon Parks, Augusta Savage, Bisa Butler, Kara Walker, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Romare Bearden.