Waves of Spring- Anita Lewis Solo Exhibition

Opening Reception: Friday, March 13 2020 from 6 to 9PM at 530 Burns Gallery.

Abstract oil paintings by Anita Lewis explore layers of heavy texture, harmonious natural hues and pops of springtime colors. Energetic yet calming, the artist’s paintings convey joy and reflect her inspiration of living in Europe for many years, a career as an interior architect, and clean, contemporary design. With the rise of contemporary condos and homes all around Sarasota, Anita’s work seamlessly fits into blank walls, establishing a focal point, and a fresh, tranquil tone that will last a lifetime.

Anita Lewis hardly uses a paintbrush. She uses a multitude of tools to layer, add and then take away and make marks creating the composition. Amidst all the pushing, pulling and scraping at paint, Lewis maintains the purity of the color. Even metallic accents emerge from several layers that were scraped away.

 Hues of cool neutrals play into the deeper layers of texture, making the eye focus on the shapes and marks made on the canvas; these colors relax us. Lewis will use pops of lavender or orange in some of her work; these colors stimulate cheer. And perhaps Sarasota’s (and the world’s) favorite, Lewis uses a range of blues from soft sky blue to classic blue; these colors rejuvenate the senses.

After joining the 530 Burns Gallery’s roster of artists in April 2019, Gallery Owner Nikki Sedacca is now excited to curate an entire show with her work. Sedacca says, “when I saw Anita’s work for the first time at Artexpo New York 2019, I knew she had something special. Her colors are harmonious and her use of texture is out-of-this-world.”

Behind each mark and painting is a lifetime of inspiration. Anita Lewis has always been an artist. After picking up oil paint at 11 years old, she received her first commission just three years later. She graduated in 1979 with a BA in Art and Interior Architectural Design at California State University Northridge. Feeling a calling for travel and shift in culture, she left for Europe. Though only attending to stay for a year, she stayed and launched her interior architecture career while exhibiting artwork in Augsburg, Germany.

Returning to the states some 20 years later, she poured her experience and international inspiration into her art. The colors and beauty of places like the south of Spain resonate with her current home in San Diego. In the painting “Aranjuez,” featured in the “Waves of Spring” Solo exhibition, Anita says, “it is the story of where my home is and it’s gardens with the cultures that added to their color and beauty.” To us, the viewers in Sarasota, it stirs up feelings of feelings of an afternoon as Selby Gardens and enjoying the bountiful harvest at the farmer’s market. This body of work will highlight just how interconnected we all are in a globalized world.

Furthermore, Anita is inspired by the joyous feelings of living by water, splashes of summer waves, rain, cannonballs in the pool, and daydreaming on the beach. This sounds familiar to us as we prepare for yet another perfect day in this paradise or reflect on a past vacation. “Bayside 1” “On the Water,” and “Blue Depth” are all paintings in which this inspiration is directly referenced.

So what would it mean to have a piece of artwork like this hanging in your home? Afterall, artwork is meant to be enjoyed time and time again by the viewer. Anita believes that art should always inspire your own moods, memories and experiences. As Anita’s paintings are abstract in nature, this allows space for our own stories and idyllic thoughts to come into the home.

530 Burns Gallery
530 Burns Lane,  Sarasota, FL 34236
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