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Amani Lewis
Visual Artist
Amani Lewis is a visual artist based in Baltimore, Maryland. Here are some key details about their background and work:
Amani Lewis was born in 1994 and grew up in Columbia, Maryland. They graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2016 with a BFA in General Fine Arts and Illustration.13
Lewis is known for their vibrant, layered portrait works that explore themes such as:
- Family and community
- Nature and urban environments
- Social justice, particularly racial justice
- Black and queer identity in the United States12
Their artistic process often involves:
- Starting with photographs of subjects, usually friends and family
- Digitally manipulating and saturating the images
- Adding layers of paint, textures, and other materials like cloth, paper, and glitter23
Some notable aspects of Lewis' work and career:
- Their "Negroes in the Trees" series examines connections between Black urban communities and nature3
- They co-founded an artist collective called CLR'D to amplify non-white artists' voices2
- Lewis shares 20-50% of proceeds from sold works with the portrait subjects23
- Their work has been exhibited at venues like the August Wilson African American Cultural Center and is in collections like the Pérez Art Museum Miami4
Lewis experienced a rapid rise in the art market around 2021, with works selling for six-figure sums, but has since faced challenges as prices declined significantly in the volatile art market.5
Overall, Amani Lewis is an emerging artist known for vibrant, socially-engaged portraiture that celebrates and uplifts their Black and queer communities in Baltimore and beyond.
