Tau Lewis facts for kids

Tau Lewis (born in 1993 in Toronto, Ontario) is an artist from Jamaica and Canada. She creates art using many different methods. Her works often include hand-sewn pieces, carved items, and assemblage art. Assemblage means putting together different found objects to make a new artwork.

How Tau Lewis Makes Art

Tau Lewis often uses materials she finds for her art. These can be things like seashells or old fabric scraps. A lot of her art explores the experiences of the African diasporic community. This refers to people of African descent living outside of Africa.

She likes to use recycled materials because it's a way of reusing things. This idea of recycling and resourcefulness is connected to her family history. In her earlier works, she used materials like wood, metal, and stones. Now, she often uses fabric. By using materials from all over the world, she helps create a feeling of community and history in her art. Using reclaimed scraps also shows she cares about the environment.

In 2018, Tau Lewis won an award called the Frieze Frame Stand Prize. She won it for her art show at Frieze New York City, USA.

Cool Artworks by Tau Lewis

the sighting of the last shadow dweller (original sea kin) (2018)

This artwork is a very long quilt, about twelve feet long! Tau Lewis made it by hand-stitching different materials together. These materials include leather and old fabrics. The pieces are sewn in a unique way, not in a perfect pattern. The blue colors and natural shapes in the quilt make it look like water or things from the ocean.

T.A.U.B.I.S. (2020)

This artwork was part of an art show in Toronto in 2020. For this piece, Tau Lewis created sculptures using hand-sewn fabrics. These sculptures explore ideas about motherhood and how gardens can teach us things and help us grow. She made these sculptures from many recycled household items. She used things like old fabrics, leather, beads, paint, and even seashells.

Mater Dei (2022)

This is a sculpture that looks like a mask. It was made for an art show in New York in 2022. The title "Mater Dei" means "mother of god." This name connects to the show's goal of helping people think about spiritual ideas. This mask, along with five others in the show, is based on traditional Yoruba religious masks. The Yoruba people are from West Africa.

Where You Can See Her Art

Tau Lewis's art can be found in many important art collections. Here are some of the places:

• Grinnell College Museum of Art, Grinnell, IA
• Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
• Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, Miami, FL
• The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, QC, Canada
• National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art Library Collection, New York, NY
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, CA
• Library and Achieves Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Art Shows

Tau Lewis has had many art shows where people can see her work. In 2018, she had her first big solo show in Canada. It was at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre. In 2021, her sculpture called "Symphony" was shown at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

Solo & Duo Exhibitions

• 2016 - foraged, ain't free, The Pendulum Project, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2017 - cyphers, tissue, blizzards, exile, 8-11 Gallery, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2018 - Tau Lewis, Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta, GA
• 2018 - when you last found me here, The Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, ON, Canada
• 2019 - I'm countin on you to ground me again, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
• 2020 - Sparkle's Map Home, Oakville Galleries, Oakville, ON, Canada
• 2021 - Symphony, The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
• 2022 - Vox Populi, Vox Dei, 52 Walker, New York, NY

Awards Tau Lewis Has Won

Tau Lewis has received several awards for her amazing art:

• 2017 - The Hynatyshyn Foundation's William and Meredith Saunderson Prize for Emerging Artists
• 2018 - Frieze Frame Stand Prize, for her show at Frieze, New York
• 2023 - Ezratti Family Prize for Sculpture, from the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami (ICA Miami), Miami, FL