ABOUT
HI THERE!
My name is Lewis Derogene but you may call me PhenomenaLewis.
I’m a Haitian born multidisciplinary woman artist based in Connecticut, USA.
I work with a variety of disciplines from, photography to sculpture, drawing, painting, video, 3D modeling, performance art, poetry, and installation art.
Part of my being creative is based on my inspirations which started with the Dutch painter Rembrandt. I love his control of the viewer’s eye on how they look at his paintings through the use of chiaroscuro. I borrowed that technique in my photographs by the way, or at least what I like to think of as the inverted version.
Another amazing artist I find to be inspiring is Aida Muluneh and the amazing Muholi Zanele whose self-portrait photographs inspired my exploration of self-portraiture.
The type of art that I create is mainly based on my desire to be soft as a Black woman because we’re always stereotyped as tough and strong. These stereotypes and tropes are so harmful to our mental health and in my work, I want to deconstruct these.
My work has evolved from wanting to make white people uncomfortable for the crap they put us, the Africans and African descents through. Then I realized my energy was getting too drained from wanting to throw their prejudice back in their face and decided to redirect my focus towards healing.
My version of healing is creating a soft environment around me in my photographs with vibrant colors and having a balance between the extreme lights and darks with colors in the foreground as well as background. I enjoy using fabrics like soft fuzzy blankets to satin that I buy off of Amazon because they are soft and extend the idea of softness even further visually.
Holding these fabrics in the process of photographing myself also gets me into the mindset of being at peace.
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!
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Selected Group Shows
2022
- Inner Dialogue: Preview in New York, NY at the Home Gallery curated by The Honey Pump
- Healing & Hope in New York, NY curated by Dodji Gbedemah
2021
- Groop Sho in Brooklyn, NY curated by Raina Mehler
- Juneteenth: A Celebration of Black Art, Identity, and Freedom in Brooklyn, NY curated by We Roam Freely
- THP:Beacon at Satellite Art Club in Brooklyn, NY curated by The Honey Pump
2020
- Beyond Beauty: the ideal form at Mad Lab in Norwalk, CT curated by Lewis Derogene
- Bathing In Blackness at SoMad Gallery in New York, NY curated by Kamra Sadia Hakim
- LIC LIVE ART at Plaxal gallery parking lot, Land Island City, NY curated by Furusho von Puttkammer
2019
- Veiled art show in New York, NY curated by Sophy Chang, Anna Stallone, and Lewis Derogene
- Satellite Art Show at the Pfizer Building in New York, NY curated by Brian Whiteley
- GI Portal in Governor’s Island, NY curated by 4Heads
- Conception Art Show in New York, NY curated by the Conception Art Team
- Open Studios in New York, NY curated by SVA's BFA Fine Arts Department
2018
- Open Studios in New York, NY curated by SVA's BFA Fine Arts Department
- Fridge Art Fair - New York, NY curated by Eric Ginsburg and Amanda Acosta
2017
- Eclectic Zone - V-Spot Organic in New York, NY curated by Rey Naldo
- ARE - WE - MORE - The living Gallery Outpost in New York, NY curated by Lewis Derogene, Steven Drake, Haley Peacock and Vieno James
- We Dream In Color - Fantasy in Color (gallery) in New York, NY curated by Christy Ayala and Rob Ayala
- Planet X - The NYC Grind (gallery) in New York, NY curated by Santana and Safiel Vonay
- We Dream In Color - Fantasy in Color (gallery) in New York, NY curated by Christy Ayala and Rob Ayala
- Salutation Vineyard - The Powell State Building in New York, NY curated by Anthony Burton
- Genius Loves Company Remix - The Powell State Building in New York, NY curated by Gregory Mills
- Genius Loves Company - The Powell State Building in New York, NY curated by Gregory Mills
- Black History Month exhibition - SVA's Student Center, New York, NY curated by Cullen Rude and Maria Rovira-McCune
2014
- Street Seats - downtown Stamford, CT curated by Stamford Town Center
- Norwalk Community College High School Art Invitational - Academic Festival in Norwalk, CT curated by Norwalk Community College