‘Nate Lewis: Latent Tapestries’ at Fridman Gallery

 

 

 

Nate Lewis ‘Latent Tapestries’ at Fridman Gallery. Image, Nate Lewis, ‘Probing the Land V (2020), 44 x 60 in. Hand-sculpted inkjet print, ink, graphite, frottage. Image courtesy of the artist and Fridman Gallery

Fridman Gallery opens its doors to Latent Tapestries, a presentation of new work by New York-based, multidisciplinary artist Nate Lewis. This exhibition marks the artist’s first solo exhibition in New York.

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Combining elements of photography, sculpture, frottage, ink, and graphite drawings, Lewis’ intricately carved works on paper reflecting his experience as a critical-care nurse, and challenge perspectives on race and history. Treating the paper as an organism, he sculpts patterns and textures akin to cellular tissue and uncovers anatomies of photographed subjects.

Nate Lewis ‘Latent Tapestries’ at Fridman Gallery, Nate Lewis Studio, courtesy of Fridman Gallery

“Interacting with images is an act of care,” Lewis said. “I explore and question the history of the subject, mirroring the abilities of diagnostic lenses in my own language of seeing and listening. The textures and patterns I create resonate with the rhythms and sounds I listen to.”

Latent Tapestries brings together Lewis’ application of medical diagnostics and its visual language; exploration of granularity of photographic images and paper; responses to the current political landscape; and the critical role of sound and music—specifically jazz—as a conduit in connecting shared histories and futures.

This exhibition includes new works in the ongoing Signaling series depicting black figures in motion; a new body of work, Probing the Land, an examination of Confederate monuments; street scenes from Trump’s campaign rallies and inauguration; and an early collage using electrocardiogram strips from patients he took care of.

Nate Lewis ‘Latent Tapestries’ at Fridman Gallery, Nate Lewis, Signaling XXIII (2020), 26 x 40 in. Hand-sculpted inkjet print, ink, graphite, frottage. Image courtesy of the artist and Fridman Gallery.

Inspired by Latent Tapestries, critically acclaimed avant-garde jazz musicians Melanie Charles, Ben Lamar Gay, Kassa Overall, Matana Roberts, and Luke Stewart created compositions that will play in a syncopated call-and-response rhythm resonating with Lewis’ textures and patterns. In the gallery’s media room, the artist will premiere a video, applying a meditative approach with patterns in movement in time.

To make the new series Probing the Land, Lewis photographed American monuments, including the controversial equestrian statues of Confederate officers lining Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. Lewis carves into the image of the monument, destabilizes the bronze, creating a soft anatomy within, rendering the figure of the horse and the rider active, penetrable and vulnerable. The works attempt to capture the public’s passion and dialogue about the statues.

Nate Lewis ‘Latent Tapestries’ at Fridman Gallery. Nate Lewis, Probing the Land IV (2020), 44 x 60 in., Hand-sculpted inkjet print, ink, graphite, frottage. Courtesy of the artist and Fridman Gallery.

“Memories and truths are locked inside these monuments, as well as a spirit of discord,” Lewis explains. “The monuments, themselves, are symbols of differing views of what we celebrate or lament.”

Lewis explains how his experience of caring for patients influenced his work: “Output imagery of medical diagnostics is a unique language critical to understanding a patient’s condition, one of colors and patterns. Depicting the invisible by color and subtleties of shades and distinctions in shapes, shifts, clarities, rhythms, and textures can indicate the potential for change. Likewise, discerning slight changes in diagnostic sounds, those of lungs, heart, pulse, and intestines is also critical. These nuanced ways of looking at and listening to a body, profoundly influenced how I see, hear, and understand the world.”

Nate Lewis ‘Latent Tapestries’ at Fridman Gallery, Nate Lewis ‘Signaling XXII (2020), 50 x 44 in. Hand-sculpted inkjet print, ink, graphite, frottage. courtesy of the artist and Fridman Gallery.

The work in the exhibition will be included in an illustrated catalogue with an introductory essay by cultural anthropologist and curator Niama Safia Sandy.

Nate Lewis: Latent Tapestries will be on view from March 1 through May 31, 2020 at Fridman Gallery, with an Opening Reception on Sunday, March 1st from 6-8:30pm. Fridman Gallery is located at 169 Bowery, NYC.