Biography

‘My influences are the people that I meet, whether it’s an exorcist priest, or a criminal or a fortune teller or an Aboriginal elder. It really is those interactions with those people that give me the desire to make the work.

Hamilton-born artist Richard Lewer works and lives in Melbourne, Australia. In 1992 Richard earned his Bachelor of Fine Art from Elam School of Fine Art, Auckland University, and in 2000, his Master of Visual Arts from Victoria College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. Among the few trans-Tasman artists with a significant practice in New Zealand as well as Australia, Richard exhibits regularly, has taken up residencies and received numerous awards in both countries.  

 

Working across a range of mediums, his art explores the intimate, though at times uncomfortable, terrain of his own personal history, as well as the history of his adopted country Australia. His works speak to what is familiar and relatable about human connection and experience, resonating in their portrayal of family, friends, sport mates, childhood scenes and recent family developments.

 

At once simplified and stylised, figures and settings convey their own narratives with compassion and humour that are distinctly his own. Lewer describes himself as a social realist - though with a contemporary idiolect - and explores the idiosyncratic, marginal tales of unlikely real-life. His stripped-back, candid depictions lay bare, without artifice, what is beautiful and sinister about society, without the hindrance of a moralising or politicising tone.

 

Richard is the recipient of many awards and prizes. In 2020, he was selected among nine artists commissioned by the Art Gallery of New South Wales to create a major new work for the art museum campus as part of the largest commissioning program since the public institution opened 150 years ago.

 

At the recent NGV Triennial in Melbourne in 2023-2024, Richard had two series of work exhibited including his Adam and Eve series which is now a proposed acquisition for the NGV collection.  His most recent institutional exhibition was shown at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery in Wellington between February – May 2024.  ‘What they didn’t teach me at school’  is a body of work resulting from his own personal journey learning about the Waikato Wars where he sought to understand the history of the place he comes from and his place within as a result of that history.

 

 

Quotation from Victoria Hynes' Artist Review.

Available Works
  • Richard Lewer, Azure Kingfisher, 2024
    Azure Kingfisher, 2024$1,500 incl. GST (unframed), $1,850 incl. GST (framed)
  • Richard Lewer, Black Neck Stork, 2024
    Black Neck Stork, 2024$1,500 incl. GST (unframed), $1,850 incl. GST (framed)
  • Richard Lewer, Grey Falcon, 2024
    Grey Falcon, 2024$1,500 incl. GST (unframed), $1,850 incl. GST (framed)
  • Richard Lewer, Pink Cockatoo, 2024
    Pink Cockatoo, 2024$1,500 incl. GST (unframed), $1,850 incl. GST (framed)
  • Richard Lewer, Regent Honeyeater, 2024
    Regent Honeyeater, 2024$1,500 incl. GST (unframed), $1,850 incl. GST (framed)
  • Richard Lewer, Wedge Tail Eagle, 2024
    Wedge Tail Eagle, 2024$1,500 incl. GST (unframed), $1,850 incl. GST (framed)
  • Richard Lewer, White Albatross, 2024
    White Albatross, 2024$1,500 incl. GST (unframed), $1,850 incl. GST (framed)
  • Richard Lewer, To have a future I must Reconcile with My Past, 2023
    To have a future I must Reconcile with My Past, 2023$20,000 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Rewi’s last stand. Battle of Orākāu, 2023
    Rewi’s last stand. Battle of Orākāu, 2023$19,500 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Freckles, 2023
    Freckles, 2023$4,000 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Lewer continually falls off his chair in class, 2023
    Lewer continually falls off his chair in class, 2023$3,000 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Stop the tour, 2023
    Stop the tour, 2023$2,500 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, White stale male, 2023
    White stale male, 2023$2,500 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Yes, 2023
    Yes, 2023$3,500 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Raglan, 2023
    Raglan, 2023$5,500 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Why don't you break your backbones, my boys?, 2022
    Why don't you break your backbones, my boys?, 2022$11,500 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, The Barking Owl, 2023
    The Barking Owl, 2023$1,150 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Kaikoura Lights, 2022
    Kaikoura Lights, 2022$9,000 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Huka Falls, 2022
    Huka Falls, 2022$9,000 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, The Rescue - Wahine Disaster , 2020
    The Rescue - Wahine Disaster , 2020$2,500 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Stop the South Africa Rugby Tour, 2020
    Stop the South Africa Rugby Tour, 2020$2,500 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, No Nuclear Ships, 2020
    No Nuclear Ships, 2020$2,200 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Napier Earthquake 1931, 2020
    Napier Earthquake 1931, 2020$2,200 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, The ball tampering incident, 2020
    The ball tampering incident, 2020$2,100 incl. GST (unframed), $2,400 incl. GST (framed)
  • Richard Lewer, South Africa World Cup, 2020
    South Africa World Cup, 2020$2,100 incl. GST (unframed), $2,400 incl. GST (framed)
  • Richard Lewer, Lance Armstrong, 2020
    Lance Armstrong, 2020$2,100 incl. GST (unframed), $2,400 incl. GST (framed)
  • Richard Lewer, Fine Cotton, 2020
    Fine Cotton, 2020$2,400 incl. GST (framed)
  • Richard Lewer, Donald Crowhurst, 2020
    Donald Crowhurst, 2020$2,100 incl. GST (unframed), $2,400 incl. GST (framed)
  • Richard Lewer, Antonio Margarito, 2020
    Antonio Margarito, 2020$2,100 incl. GST (unframed), $2,400 incl. GST (framed)
  • Richard Lewer, Pegboard Confessions, 2019
    Pegboard Confessions, 2019$19,000 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Rosary #4, 2018
    Rosary #4, 2018$2,000 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Crucifixion #19, 2018
    Crucifixion #19, 2018$1,400 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Crucifix #5, 2018
    Crucifix #5, 2018$1,400 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Crucifix #18, 2018
    Crucifix #18, 2018$1,400 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Crucifix #16, 2018
    Crucifix #16, 2018$1,400 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Crucifix #11, 2018
    Crucifix #11, 2018$1,400 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Vlad, 2017
    Vlad, 2017$9,500 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Koda, 2017
    Koda, 2017$9,500 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Vlad in the Masters, 2017
    Vlad in the Masters, 2017$1,500 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Shadow Boxer, 2017
    Shadow Boxer, 2017$1,400 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Police Raid, 2017
    Police Raid, 2017$1,400 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Attacked and bitten by camp dogs, 2017
    Attacked and bitten by camp dogs, 2017$1,300 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Nana Mills' 80th Birthday, 2017
    Nana Mills' 80th Birthday, 2017$5,800 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Untitled #16, 2016
    Untitled #16, 2016$1,600 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Untitled #9, 2015
    Untitled #9, 2015$1,500 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Untitled #10, 2015
    Untitled #10, 2015$1,500 incl. GST
  • Richard Lewer, Untitled, 2016
    Untitled, 2016$1,600 incl. GST
Works
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