Statement

Our experience is arguably defined by, or at the very least reflected through, the technological landscape within which we exist. It could also be said, however, that that very environment removes us from what it is to be human. This dichotomy exists for us all and is increasingly a symptom of the human condition.

Regardless of popular misconceptions, these post modern times can never be 'all things to all men' (women/people). In reality, despite individual aspiration or acheivement, it is equally as possible or probable that any of the utopian or dystopian narratives that have been, or could be, envisaged could conceivably be realised as fact ...is it about the possible, or what we would wish for?

There is evidence of both a celebratory passion and an uncertain distrust in the work that I produce. Both elements are there out of necessity, not by design ...there are always questions, rarely answers.

Robert Lewis

Bio

UK artist Robert Lewis was born in London in 1956. He currently lives and works in rural East Midlands. Originally trained as an engineer, he subsequently went on to study fine art and illustration at the Kent Institute of Art and Design (Canterbury and Maidstone) achieving an honours degree.

Aside from his work in the field of art, Lewis is also known for various other making abilities; such as producing museum/archive quality reproductions for clients including the National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage, Qatar. He is also an accomplished furniture maker. Lewis’s extensive portfolio, although recently almost exclusively three dimensional, also includes painting, printmaking and sound. As varied and disparate as this work may seem, his historical engineering influences are clearly visible and an intrinsic part of all that he does.

Lewis has work in many private collections, both in the UK and worldwide, with commissions accounting for a large proportion of his output. He has also exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions throughout, including shows at such prestigious venues as Cork Street and the Royal Festival Hall, London.

A considerable proportion of his work includes various active and interactive pieces. These utilise electrical, electronic and/or mechanical elements whose intention is both to engage the audience and concentrate the intent of the work. It is this work that has led to Lewis’s greater interest in sound; which he had originally considered merely as a device to augment those interactive pieces. Sound has since become a stand alone element in his working (projectedNOISE.co.uk).

Lewis’s techniques are his own, developed over many decades. His methods of construction and juxtapositioning of materials and processes equate to a whole that ascends the obvious workmanship to immerse the audience solely with the works subject and intent.