Charlie Hewitt (artist)
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Charlie Hewitt (August 21, 1946) is an American
painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
,
printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...
, sculptor and public artist based in Maine. He is known for his public art projects in Maine and
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
.


Biography

Hewitt was born into a large working-class
French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...
family in Lewiston, Maine on August 21, 1946, and he was raised in Lewiston/
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
and Brunswick, Maine. He earned his college degree at Concord College in
Athens, West Virginia Athens is a town in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 944 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV- VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,578. Athens is the home of Concord University. Hist ...
. He moved to New York City in 1969 and studied at the
New York Studio School The New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture at 8 West 8th Street, in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York State is an art school formed in 1963 by a group of students and their teacher, Mercedes Matter, all of ...
under artists Philip Guston,
David Hare David Hare may refer to: *David Hare (philanthropist) (1775–1842), Scottish philanthropist *David Hare (artist) (1917–1992), American sculptor and photographer *David Hare (playwright) (born 1947), English playwright and theatre and film direc ...
, and
Elaine de Kooning Elaine Marie Catherine de Kooning (, née Fried; March 12, 1918 – February 1, 1989) was an Abstract Expressionist and Figurative Expressionist painter in the post-World War II era. She wrote extensively on the art of the period and was an edito ...
. In 1984, Hewitt returned to Maine, where he created prints at the Vinalhaven Press. He transformed a former florist shop and greenhouse in
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
into a studio known as the “Electric Greenhouse,” which houses his light sculptures. Hewitt maintains his studio in New York City, where he is represented b
Jim Kempner Fine Art


Work

Hewitt is known for his public sculptures installed and displayed throughout various locations on the
East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...
. ''Hopeful'' is a work consisting of a series of light sculptures and signs installed in dozens of locations in several states from Maine to Maryland. It began in 2019 as a commissioned piece for contemporary art galler
Speedwell Projects
for the roof of their headquarters in Portland, Maine. Hewitt has described the sculpture as a reaction to the increased polarization of the world. Hewitt’s ''Urban Rattle'' is one of only a few permanently installed art pieces along the High Line in New York City. Hewitt’s painting and printmaking primarily references Pop art. He has explored digital art as well, creating NFTs from original drawings. Works of art by Hewitt are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, and
Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...
in New York; the Library of Congress in Washington, DC; the MIT List Visual Arts Center in Cambridge, MA; and several museums in Maine.


Selected Solo Exhibitions

2023 "Bright Screens and Electric Dreams," Moss Galleries, Portland, ME 2022 "Light Up," Heather Gaudio Fine Art, New Canaan, CT 2022 "New Work," Jim Kempner Fine Art, New York 2019 "Abstract Paintings and Electric Dreams," Courthouse Gallery, Ellsworth, ME 2018 Icon Contemporary Art, Brunswick, ME 2012 "Charlie Hewitt: Cut and Printed," Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT 2006 Farnsworth Museum, Rockland, ME 2006 "Scrape, Cut, Gouge, Bite, Print: The Graphic Work of Charlie Hewitt 1976–2006," Bates College Museum, Lewiston, ME 1999 "Lasting Impressions: Contemporary Prints from the Bruce Brown Collection," Portland Museum of Art, ME 1997 "In Print: Contemporary Artists at the Vinalhaven Press," Portland Museum of Art, ME and McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College 1996 Fletcher Priest Gallery, Worcester, MA


Public Sculpture Installations

''Hopeful,'' various locations, including Lexington Park, MD (2022); Augusta, ME (2021); Bangor, ME (2020); Bates Mills, Lewiston, ME; (2019); Speedwell Projects, Portland, ME (2019) ''French Rose'' “''Beauté Française,”'' Auburn, Maine (2022) ''Dallas Boot'', Primera Properties, Plano, TX (2021); and Towne Square Place II, Portland, ME (2021) ''Portland Rattle'', 511 Congress Street, Portland ME (2015) ''L/A Rattle'', L/A Arts, Lewiston, ME (2015) ''Brooklyn Swing,'' Primera Companies, Dallas, TX (2013) ''Urban Rattle,'' Equity Builders for Ten23 Apartments (High Line), New York, NY (2013)


Selected Grants and Awards

1998
New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...
, Painting 1997 New York Foundation for the Arts, Drawings, Prints 1974 New York State Council of the Arts, CAPS Grant


Selected Publications

''Charlie Hewitt: Sculpture''. New York: Jim Kempner Fine Art, 2010 (OCLC 731037489). ''Charlie Hewitt: Drawings for Illuminations''. New York: Jim Kempner Fine Art, 2010 (OCLC 693188783). ''Charlie Hewitt: Woodcuts''. New York: Jim Kempner Fine Art, 2009 (OCLC 693110217). Becker, David. ''Scrape, Cut, Gouge, Bite, Print: The Graphic Work of Charlie Hewitt, 1976–2006''. Lewiston, ME:
Bates College Museum of Art The Bates College Museum of Art (also known locally simply as the Museum of Art or MoA) is an art museum located on the campus of, and maintained by, Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. It holds various mediums of arts that showcase Maine and the gr ...
, 2007 (). Beem, Edgar Allan, and Charlie Hewitt. ''Charlie Hewitt at Work'': ''Twenty Years of Paintings, Sculpture and Works on Paper''. Rockland, ME:
Farnsworth Art Museum The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, United States, is an art museum that specializes in American art. Its permanent collection includes works by such artists as Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully, Thomas Eakins, Eastman Johnson, Fitz Henry Lan ...
, 2006 (). Gallant, Aprile, and Bruce Brown. ''Lasting Impressions: Contemporary Prints from the Bruce Brown Collection''. Portland, ME: Portland Museum of Art, 2000 (). Gallant, Aprile, and David P. Becker. ''In Print'' '': Contemporary Artists at the Vinalhaven Press''. Portland, ME: Portland Museum of Art, 1997 ().


Selected Permanent Collections

Bates College Museum of Art, Lewiston, MEBrooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, NY
Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, MEFarnsworth Museum of Art, Rockland, MEHarvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, MALibrary of CongressMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NYMIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MAPortland Museum of Art, Portland, ME
Prudential Insurance, New York, NY
State University of New York, Binghamton, NYWhitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY


External links

* Charlie Hewitt Studio (official website): https://www.charliehewittstudio.com * Charlie Hewitt Digitized Edition (NFT website): https://www.charliehewittnft.com * The Electric Greenhouse podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmVyv8z7i5Y


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt, Charlie Sculptors from Maine 1946 births American people of French-Canadian descent Concord University alumni New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture alumni People from Lewiston, Maine Living people