Mixed Greens is thrilled to present Zane Lewis’ solo debut in New York. In this exhibition, he will present a series of large-scale paintings and a site-specific installation inspired by the biblical Garden of Eden.

Lewis’ work explores the power of cultural icons and their relationship to the religious sublime. By juxtaposing religious imagery and contemporary figures, he alludes to trends of modern day worship, which tends toward the idolization of political figures, Hollywood celebrities, and cult leaders. By using personae that range from the charismatic to the unsettling to the worshipped, he throws the icons of contemporary culture into question.

In this show, Lewis presents a series loosely based on the story of Adam and Eve. He uses the biblical narrative to tackle ideas of beauty, youth, power, desire, death, idolatry, fame, fashion and art. Adam and Eve are likened to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and the serpent is depicted by an image of Dakota Fanning appropriated from an advertising campaign for Marc Jacobs. Lewis also incorporates his idea of a modern day momento mori.

For each work, paint is carefully spilled, pooled and cut to create the image. Thus, each piece references culture, art history and the basic act of making a painting. Lewis recontextualizes our icons and our ideas of how a painting is constructed.

Zane Lewis received his BFA from the Atlanta College of Art in 2004. Since then, some of his group show venues include MOCA, Atlanta, GA (2004), Finesilver Gallery, Houston, TX (2005), Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York City (2006), Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York (2007), Mark Moore Gallery, Los Angeles (2007), and The Museum of Fine Arts Houston (2007). He has had solo exhibitions at Finesilver Gallery, San Antonio, TX, DiverseWorks, Houston, TX and Romo Gallery in Atlanta, GA. In 2006 Zane was listed in the Wall Street Journal as one of the “23-Year-Old Masters”. His work is currently featured on the cover of the No. 72 issue of New American Paintings (2007).