Louis
St.Lewis

Photographed by Andy Warhol, sketched by Robert Indiana, and praised by Judy Chicago, no artist in the South generates as much controversy, conversation, critical dispute and enthusiasm as Louis St. Lewis. For the past twenty years the artist has bemused, bewildered and challenged his public with a myriad of artistic endeavors. His 1993 self-portrait in drag for Raleigh’s ARTSPLOSURE festival created a landslide of press coverage and the greatest sales of Artsplosure merchandise in its history. His exhibition featuring chandeliers made from human bones and paintings in blood was formally denounced by the Archbishop of Charleston in 1998, and resulted in the largest turnout ever for an exhibit at the Halsey Gallery, College of Charleston , including representatives from Ripley’s Believe it or Not, and the notorious Lady Chablis of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In the 1980’s Andy Warhol stated that Louis’ art was “Heironymous Bosch meets MTV” Mr. St. Lewis has been hailed as a cunning pirate of art history, and his brilliant and colorful manipulations that have found their way into the collections of such notables as Christian LaCroix, Andre Leon Talley, HRH The Prince of Kuwait, and Danielle Steele. The artist has recently had exhibitions in Paris, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Mr. St. Lewis has also been attracting the attention of museum curators with two paintings being acquired for the permanent collection of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, a Smithsonian affiliate and the largest museum in the world dedicated to the promotion of Southern art as well as recent additions to the permanent collections of The New Orleans Museum of Art, the Masur Museum of Art and The Morris Museum of Art . The artist has been showcased at both the Toronto and San Francisco International Art Fairs and has been juried twice into the Florence International Contemporary Art Biennale. Through his artistic collaborations with Sean Yseult of White Zombie at CBGB’s gallery in NYC, the artist wowed new collectors such as Tatum O’Neal and Linda Blair. Louis St. Lewis has been named “ Best Artist in the Triangle” 8 times by Spectator Magazine and recently won honors in the book “The Best of Artists and Artisans in NC”. Internationally recognized artist Judy Chicago awarded Louis 1st place in the 51st annual DAG juried art competition where she stated that “ The artwork of Louis St. Lewis sets a very high standard for art in North Carolina” and that his current body of work were “ the strongest assemblages I have seen in a decade”. Perhaps noted art scholar Mark Sloan of The Halsey Gallery at the College of Charleston says it best. ” If talent was electrical current, Louis St.Lewis would be HIGH VOLTAGE” in addition to his artistic pursuits, Louis is the Artist-At-Large for Metro Magazine each month ( www.metronc.com)