NAPOLEON

The Devil’s Handyman (After Westermann), 2016.

The Colonist, 2014. From the Early America series.

Untitled (Homespun), 2015. From the Early America series.

And Through These Gathered Objects, 2016. From the Early America series.

Detail of And Through These Gathered Objects.

The Only Extant Copy, from Scenes for Empty Rooms.

An Evening, from Scenes for Empty Rooms.

Detail of An Evening.

www.lewiscolburn.net

At best, objects make unreliable tour guides. They cannot argue with the narratives we imagine for them.  Lewis Colburn’s sculptures start from meticulous replicas of historical objects. Playing on the relationships between objects and their means of display, Colburn’s work questions how we construct and re-tell the narratives that become our histories.

Colburn’s work has been shown throughout the United States, at venues including the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and the School 33 Art Center in Baltimore. His work has also been featured in Sculpture magazine.

Colburn holds a BA in studio art and Russian language from St. Olaf College, and an MFA in sculpture from Syracuse University. He has participated in residency programs at the Center for Land Use Interpretation, the Vermont Studio Center, SculptureSpace, and D’Clinic Studios in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2016           Fall Solos 2016 Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA (Juried, solo)
2016           Scenes for Empty Rooms Glen Foerd on the Delaware, Philadelphia, PA
2016           Early America School 33 Art Center, Baltimore, MD
2015            Wind Challenge 1 Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA (Juried, solo)
2015            Three Museum Objects Göcseji Museum, Zalaegerszeg, Hungary
2014            On This Site NAPOLEON, Philadelphia, PA
2012            The Factory and After The Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA
2012            The Practical Romantic Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
2012            After the Architect Has Gone Public Space One, Iowa City, IA
2010            Vertigo Waterloo Center for the Arts, Waterloo, IA
2009            Interregnum (1815-1969) Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY
2008            The X-Prize and the Heroic Theory of Invention Redhouse Arts Center, Syracuse, NY
2007            The Inspection Stations Project Unit B Gallery, Syracuse, NY

Selected Group Exhibitions

2016
Lost in Transit SOIL Gallery, Seattle, WA, with NAPOLEON
In/Dwelling: Meditations on Built Environments as Cultural Narrative
High Street Gallery, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ
Far More Real Coop Gallery, Nashville, TN, with NAPOLEON
Best of D’Clinic Studios 2015, VMK – Gönczi Gallery, Zalaegerszeg, Hungary

2015
Traction Company Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, with NAPOLEON
Philadelphia, PA
Woodmere Annual 2015, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA (Juried)
Other Selections, The Center for Art in Wood, Philadelphia, PA
Art in the Open at UCAL, University City Arts League, Philadelphia, PA

2014
Good Neighbors, Berman Museum of Art, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA
Art in the Open 2014, Schuylkill Banks, Philadelphia, PA (Juried)
Manufacturing Fire, Little Berlin, Philadelphia, PA
School of Art Faculty Show The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Repeated Set Tyler School of Art, Photo Department, Philadelphia, PA
(Two-person, with Tamsen Wojtanowski.)

2011
Have a Nice Day, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
HERE  Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Construct  Icebox Gallery, Crane Arts Building, Philadelphia, PA
This is the House You’ll Live In Tomorrow University of the Arts Sculpture Gallery,
Philadelphia, PA (Two-person, with Stephanie Koenig)
Introduction 2011  Widener Gallery, Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA

2010
Fugitive Encounters The Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA

2009
MFA 2009 New York Center for Art and Media Studies, New York, NY
MFA 2009 SUArt Gallery, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
The Other Side of the World Skulpturenpark Berlin_Zentrum, Berlin, Germany

2008
International Prize for Performance, 4th Edition Galleria Civica, Trento, Italy
Seriously, Funny  Lord Hall Gallery, University of Maine, Orono, ME
Artists and Models: Unhinged  Central Terminal, Buffalo, NY

Education

M.F.A.  Sculpture, Syracuse University, 2009
B.A. Studio Art, Russian Language, St. Olaf College, 2005

Artist Residencies

2016 SculptureSpace Residency Program, Utica, NY (July-August 2016)
2016 Artist-in-Residence, Glen Foerd Estate, Philadelphia, PA
2015 Tractor Residency Program, D’Clinic Studios, Zalaegerszeg, Hungary
2009 Vermont Studio Center Residency, Johnson, VT (Full Fellowship)
2007 Wendover Residence Program, Center for Land Use Interpretation, Wendover, UT