Page 47 - Art First: Simon Lewty: Absorption
P. 47
SIMON LEWTY
Simon Lewty was born in Sutton Coldfield in 1941. He studied at Leamington School of Art and
Hornsey College of Art between 1957 and 1962, and was a lecturer at the Mid-Warwickshire
College of Art until 1981. He now lives and works in Leamington Spa and in Dorset.
He has exhibited since 1968. Solo exhibitions include the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, in 1984;
the Serpentine Gallery, London, in 1985; Anne Berthoud Gallery, London, where he had four
exhibitions between 1985 and 1992 and at DKFA Projects, New York (with Art First) in 2004.
Most recently he showed his work at the Courtauld Institute of Fine Art, and the South Bank
Centre, London, in 2011 and 2012. Over 30 years he has participated in many group exhibi-
tions, ranging from the John Moores Biennale, Liverpool, to Upturned Ark at the Pitt Rivers
Museum, Oxford, and ArtandtheWord at Miami Art Museum, Florida, USA.
Simon Lewty has been the subject of two films made for Central TV, and he was interviewed
by Timothy Hyman for BBC Radio 3’s Third Ear series in 1992. Between 2006 and 2009 he was
interviewed by Cathy Courtney in a series of recordings made for the British Library Sound
Archive. In 2010 a short film about his work, Through the Surface was directed by Tom Hudson.
Also in 2010 The Self as a Stranger, a richly illustrated monograph on his work, was published
by Black Dog Publishing Ltd., London. This includes essays by a distinguished group of writers,
as well as contributions from the artist himself.
He is represented in many public collections including the Arts Council of Great Britain, the
Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum, and the Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archive
of Concrete and Visual Poetry, Miami Beach, Florida, USA.
Simon Lewty is represented exclusively by Art First, London, where he has exhibited regularly
since 1994.
Facing page, detail from Eclipse,Sea,Dream,Song