DYLAN LEWIS
Dylan Lewis was born in Johannesburg
in 1964. He is the son of the late
well-known sculptor Robin Lewis and comes from an artistic family. His
great-grandfather, Thomas Rayfon Lewis, and grandmother, Renee Hughes, were
accomplished artists and his mother Valerie and brother, Tim are practicing
artists.
He completed his schooling at S.A.C.S. in Cape
Town after which he studied art at the Cape Technikon
in 1982. Dylan has always had a deep and abiding interest in the natural
world. He worked at the Rondevlei Nature
Reserve, Cape Town, for four years (1985-89). There, amongst
other things, he painted the backdrop of the diorama in the Field Museum,
illustrated a field guide and worked as a taxidermist. His skill in taxidermy has greatly benefited
his painting and sculpting. In 1989 he studied painting at the Ruth Prowse
School of Art under Ryno Swart and began exploring sculpture. In 1990 he spent a year painting and
sculpting in the Timbavati Nature Reserve in Mpumalanga.
In July 1991 he presented to the AGM of Timbavati two sculptures of
Rhino, casting a series of thirty editions available to the landowners of the
reserve. He was also commissioned by the reserve to paint their famous white lioness.
Later that year Dylan travelled to Europe studying art in its museums. In 1994 he moved to a farm outside
Stellenbosch, where he has built his studio and bronze foundry. He casts his own sculptures in bronze.
In 1995 he visited Codova in Alaska to represent South Africa at
the "Artists for Nature Foundation Expedition". Working within a
strict self-imposed discipline of direct observation of nature, he immerses
himself in his subject, sketching and sculpting ceaselessly. It is this combination of love, truth and
hard work that give shape to his powerful evocations of animal form and animal force.
Seeking out the presence of the live animal Dylan says, "I sketch continuously,
sometimes for weeks, until an understanding of form and movement emerges, then
I sculpt small compositional studies followed by the final sculpture. Under the surface often lie fully sculpted
skeleton and muscle studies. The discipline gives me the freedom to concentrate on the abstract sculptural
aspects of the work while retaining the animal form."
Of his work Nicholas Hammond, the British author of ´Twentieth Century Wildlife
Artists´ writes, “ Dylan Lewis is a young artist who is showing other artists
of wildlife that it is not the detail of the animal that is paramount, but the
excitement of being there and sharing the environment with the animal; what he has achieved is impressive.”
1964 - Born in Johannesburg, South Africa.
1982 - Studied Art at the Cape Technicon, Cape Town, South Africa.
1985 -Four years practising taxidermy and museum display art at Rondevlei Nature Reserve, Cape Town
1989 - Studied painting under Ryno Swart at Ruth Prowse School of Art, Cape Town
1993 - Moved to farm and built own studio and bronze foundry in Stellenbosch, South Africa
1995 - Invited to represent South Africa at ‘Artists for Nature Foundation
Expedition’ in Cordova, Alaska
1997 - Completed commission for Mr Johann Rupert -
installation of 18 life-size Leopard sculptures, Leopard Creek Country
Club, Malelane, South Africa
1998 - HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands
opens newly renovated studio premises in Stellenbosch
1999 - ‘Recent Cat Sculpture’ exhibitions –
Schoongezicht Manor, Rustenberg Wine Estate in
association with The
Everard Read Gallery, Stellenbosch
The Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg
The Manx Museum, Douglas, Isle of Man
2000 - Exhibitions of recent work –
The Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town
The Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg
Art London 2000 in association with The Everard
Read Gallery, Duke of
York’s Barracks, London
Dallas International Art & Antiques Fair in
association with Miriam Shiell
Fine Art, Dallas International Pavilion, Dallas
Toronto International Art fair in association with
Miriam Shiell Fine
Art, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto
2001 - Exhibitions of recent work –
Summer Exhibition, The Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town
Art London 2001 in association with The Everard
Read Gallery, Duke of
York’s Barracks, London
Toronto International Art & Antiques Fair in
association with Miriam Shiell
Fine Art, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto
Dallas International Art & Antiques Fair in
association with Miriam Shiell
Fine Art, Dallas International Pavilion
2002 - Exhibitions of recent work –
Summer Exhibition, The Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town
Art London 2002 in association with The Everard Read
Gallery, Duke of
York’s Barracks, London
Home of Gordon Getty in association with The Africa
Foundation, San Francisco
2003 - Exhibitions of recent work –
Art London 2003 in association with The Everard Read
Gallery, Burton’s
Court, London
The Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town
The Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg
2004 - Exhibition of recent work, Art London 2004 in association with The Everard
Read Gallery, Burton’s Court, London
2005 - Sabbatical
– travels to Tibet
2006 - Exhibition of Female Nudes, Art London 2006, in association with The
Everard Read Gallery, Burton’s Court, London
2007 - Shapeshifting: From Animal to Human,
Rupert Museum, Stellenbosch
Predators & Prey auction, Christie’s
South Kensington, London
Emergence in association with The Everard Read Gallery,
L’Ormarins Estate, Franschhoek, South Africa
2008 - Predators& Prey urban outdoor sculpture installation of 23 life-size bronzes in town of
Stellenbosch
2009 - Shapeshifting: From Animal to Human, Christie’s South
Kensington, London
Shapeshifting: From Animal to Human,
The Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg
2010 - Untamed - Oude Bank, Stellenbosch
Untamed: Exploring the Lost Balance Between Humankind and Nature, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town