Rickey Lewis - ARTISTIC ECO SYSTEM
Where personal narrative and public interaction converge across art forms.
Rickey Lewis - ARTISTIC ECO SYSTEM
Where personal narrative and public interaction converge across art forms.
"Cargo" Oil on Canvas 3ft x 4ft
Rickey Lewis's oil painting "Cargo" presents a searing examination of the foundational role of enslaved African labor in constructing the modern world. The work challenges historical narratives that marginalize this contribution, forcefully arguing that the agricultural, industrial, and technological revolutions were built upon a grid of Black subjugation.
The painting's central visual metaphor is a series of stark, intersecting black lines. These form a brutal architectural grid, symbolizing the global economic structure—its railways, shipping lanes, and financial systems—all engineered by the forced labor of kidnapped Africans. This "cargo" was not passive; it was the human engine of immense wealth and progress for others, a paradox of brutal exploitation fueling monumental advancement.
"Cargo" insists that we confront this institutionalized legacy. It is a visceral reminder that the concepts of global trade, industry, and capital are inextricably linked to the history of slavery, a history whose lines of force continue to define our world's economic and social landscape.
Discover the Artistic Wonders Through my Captivating Photo Gallery
Chromathisia, Oil on Canvas 48" x 48"
celebrates pigment as a language of internal, personal truth. Part of my Colored Women series, this piece translates the blissful sensation of a Black woman into a symphony of pure color and fluid form. Her multi-colored afro radiates personal energy, while the abstract, flowing shapes that suggest her dress map the very rhythm and depth of her feeling, a celebration of the vibrant interior landscapes of joy and serenity.
"The Company We Keep" 6' x 7' oil on canvas portrays isolation within a system: a solitary figure connects via a tenuous, synaptic line to a mushroom form—networked yet alone. This "company" is the internal chorus of past and hope, set against a chaotic field. This relational tension is my through-line. From "Power Struggle" to scaffolds of resilience, my work—in studio or street—excavates the structures that shape us, asking how we are formed and can reform the company we keep.
Alluragotcha 3'x6'," I seek to capture that electrifying moment of connection and recognition—the instant you lock eyes with someone and feel the compelling pull of their allure. The composition is built around this intimate encounter. The piercing eyes and inviting red lips emerge as the focal point from a symphony of abstract, multi-colored shapes, anchoring the viewer in a moment of powerful, silent communication.
Tessera, 3'x6' portrays identity as a sacred mosaic. A woman’s gaze, centered within the quiet dignity of her hijab, emerges from a vibrant field of individually crafted impasto sections. Each distinct palette knife stroke, with its own unique color story, acts as a tessera—a single fragment essential to the whole.
This painting visualizes the self as an intricate assembly of experiences, faith, and culture. The woman is both the complete image and every individual piece.
Power Struggle, 36" x 48" Oil on canvas is a striking impasto creation that captures the intense battle for power that rages on in our world. Thick layers of paint create a sense of depth and complexity, as each stroke represents a different facet of this ongoing struggle. The rich, bold colors used evoke a sense of urgency and tension, while the rough texture adds to the overall chaotic feeling. This piece serves as a commentary on the never-ending quest for dominance and in our society."
Work that is informed by reality
Red, Black n Blue, the complex duality of the Black experience. The subject’s vibrant, multi-hued complexion is interwoven with red braids, symbolizing innocent bloodshed, and blue, reflecting a police system with roots in controlling Black bodies. This work critiques systemic flaws while acknowledging officers who serve with integrity. The mother’s stoic expression conveys the anguish for her children within an institution meant to protect—yet one that has historically failed to do so equally
Works of transformation
Butterflight oil on canvas 30 " x 40" "Butterflight" is an abstract visualization of metamorphosis—capturing the precise, fragile moment a new form emerges. The painting hovers in the charged stillness between struggle and flight, where bold color and fluid form evoke the beautiful, tenuous instant of becoming free.
New dawn today oil on canvas 24" x 36" "New Dawn Today depicts a universal woman at the threshold of a new beginning. With her back turned to us, she faces a pristine landscape of rolling hills and grasses. Her bare back merges with a delicate white lace skirt, symbolizing the seamless connection between human spirit and nature. Her braided hair echoes the organic patterns of the land, presenting a figure of quiet strength, unbound by nationality, gazing toward a collective future."
My meta fiction novel cover art depicts REALIZE DA BULL, a creature of glitching ink and primal fury, locked in earth-shattering combat with a monolithic, green-skinned GOLEM.
POPADELIC is a reality-bending odyssey where art invades the world. Artists Richard and Lydia set out to expose a fascist cult with their graphic novel, only to discover their creations—characters Realize Da Bull—are alive, breaking through the pages.
Art declares war!
some collaborative photos directly inform my paintings and murals, translating lived experience into art that remains rooted in truth.
My art is built collaboratively. A 14-year-old directed this photo to show teen mental health's "invisible storm," proving inner turmoil transcends environment. This co-created truth is my foundation; the community's lived experience is the most vital medium I use.
This collaborative image redefines the tug-of-war. Here, teens and police pull together on the same rope against an unseen, unknown force. It is a visual metaphor for a community choosing collective strength over internal conflict, united by a shared struggle rather than divided by their roles.
This photograph captures adolescent isolation within a crowd. A girl sits hooded and withdrawn on school stairs, her distress met with a spectrum of peer indifference—from a crossed-arm stare to a stepping-over stride—making the staircase a metaphor for social climbing over unseen pain.
painting in progress is an example of the process Cycle of Influence & Commentary
This painting evolves from the raw truth of a collaborative photograph, transmuting that initial spark into my own visual language. It explores the quiet persistence of inner turmoil across time through a woman in a shadowed interior, a testament to how observed experience is absorbed and refined into a timeless, personal narrative through my eco system practice.
Study and poster for a painting in progress
"My creative ecosystem is rooted in a spiritual inquiry into human moments—both sacred and civic. It unfolds at two speeds: the deep, immersive world-building of paintings and installations, and the sharp, timely satire of my 'Realize Da Bull' cartoon. Each medium informs the other, creating a continuous dialogue between the transcendent and the everyday."
artistic practice
