PETER WAYNE LEWIS was born in Kingston, Jamaica, of a typical Jamaican parentage of African and European extract.  He immigrated to Sacramento, California with his parents in 1962, where he and the family became part of the African-American community of Sacramento, while also suffering the perception of being outsiders.  Peter became an American citizen in 1983. He received his M.A. in Painting from San Jose State University in California and was a tenured Professor of Painting at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston for 25 years, including a stint as Chairman of the Department. He maintains an ambitious studio practice, splitting his time between the New York Metro area and Beijing, China, where he is also the Director of Oasis Gallery-Beijing.

Peter’s influences are as global as his DNA, ranging from his early attraction to Japanese prints to a lifelong interest in music, the legacy of his jazz-pianist father to the eclectic cultural surroundings of the Caribbean and California.  More recently, he has become intrigued by theoretical cosmology and quantum physics, especially string theory, a concept which has pushed his work into new territory, notably in the series  Buddha Plays Monk.  His expansive abstract language negotiates a balance between spontaneity and precise control, between structure and chaos, between light and dark and color and no color - an amalgam that offers an intense intellectual and visual experience.

Peter has exhibited extensively in the US, Africa, Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. Recent solo exhibitions – at The Delaware Contemporary (2019-2020) in Wilmington, DE; at UCCA - Ullens Center of Contemporary Art in Beijing (curated by Philip Tinari, 2016); and MOCA-North Miami (2015) as well as gallery exhibitions on three continents – include a survey of paintings produced in his studio in Beijing. His works are in numerous public and private collections in the U.S. and abroad.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS: (2024) Peter Wayne Lewis Paintings, Scully Tomasko Foundation, New York, NY; (2022) Kingston to Sacramento: A Painter’s Journey, B. Sakata Garo Fine Art, Sacramento, CA; The Buoyancy Paintings, Skoto Gallery, New York, NY; (2021) Booster Selection, Skoto Gallery, New York, NY; (2019/20) Beijing Booster Paintings, The Delaware Contemporary, Wilmington, DE; (2019) The Bending Time Paintings – From Kingston to Beijing, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China; (2016) Boosters, Curator: Philip Tinari, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing, China; (2015) The Booster Paintings, Museum of Contemporary Art-North Miami, FL; The Brain Paintings, Skoto Gallery, NYC; (2014) Temporal Paintings, JAYJAY, Sacramento, CA; (2013) Paintings from Middle Earth 4, Skoto Gallery, NYC; American Artist Peter Wayne Lewis, The Beijing American Center (BAC), Beijing, China; Strings, Matthias Kuper Galleries, Stuttgart, Germany; (2012) Paintings from Middle Earth Part 3, Promo-Arte, Tokyo, Japan; Paintings from Middle Earth Part 2, Matthias Kuper Galleries, Beijing, China; (2011) Paintings from Middle Earth Part 1, JAYJAY, Sacramento, CA; (2009) Paintings, Promo-Arte, Tokyo, Japan; (2008) Booster Paintings, Galerie Im Cordonhaus, Cham, Germany; Grand: The Booster Paintings, JAYJAY, Sacramento, CA; (2003) Strings, Rosenberg + Kaufman Fine Art, NYC; Paintings, Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans, LA; (2002) (Solo) Dream Paintings, Parish Gallery, Washington, DC; (2000) Fields, Rosenberg + Kaufman Fine Art, NYC (Catalogue with essay by David Carrier); (1998) Viechtach/New York, Galerie Weber, Viechtach, Germany; (1997) Replicant, Rosenberg + Kaufman Fine Art, NYC; (1995) Black Swan Suite, Frederick Spratt Gallery, San Jose, CA; Blue and Black Swan Suite Selections, Parish Gallery, Washington, DC; Blue Swan Suite Paintings, Rosenberg + Kaufman Fine Art, NYC; (1994) Sumerian Farewell Paintings, Frederick Spratt Gallery, San Jose, CA; (1993) Stammtisch Paintings, Kunst/Raum, Stuttgart, Germany; (1992) Paintings, Kunsthaus Ostbayern, Viechtach, Germany (Catalogue); The Substance of Painting, Fong & Spratt Galleries, San Jose, CA; (1990) Works on Paper, Kunsthaus Ostbayern, Viechtach, Germany; Works on Paper, D.P. Fong Gallery, San Jose, CA; (1988) Paintings, Bruce Velick Gallery, San Francisco, CA; (1987) Recent Abstract Images, Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, Monterey, CA; (1986) Paintings, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA; (1984) Paintings, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA;  (1979) Decadence and Permutations, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA; Paintings, San Jose Art Center, San Jose, CA.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS: (2025) Pan African Contemporary Art: World Exhibition, Pan African Heritage World Museum, Ghana; (2024) Take Away: International Artists in the Collection of Brian Wallace, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China; (2023) Between Light and Shadow, AOA;87, Bamberg, Germany; Draw: Point to Point, Florida International University Museum, Miami, FL; The First China New National Tide Art Exhibition, Sunshine International Art Museum, Songzhuang, China; (2022) The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, AFRIKIN ART 2022, Maison AfriKin, Miami, FL; Border Free, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China; Countdown Series 4, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China; 30th Anniversary Group Show, Skoto Gallery, New York, NY; Future? - New Year Group Exhibition, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China; (2021) In Praise of Zen, Tatami Art Museum, Eiheiji, Japan; Mirror Reflection International Printmaking Exhibition, Shanghai Hongqiao Contemporary Art Museum (SHCAM), Shanghai, China; 43rd Annual Art Auction Exhibition, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA; Small but Mighty, Brookline Arts Center, Curator Camilø Álvårez of Samsøñ, Brookline, MA; Bob Marley: Legacy Series, Jamaican Embassy in P.R. China, Beijing, China; (2020) Color Memory, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China; Exodus 4, Whitebox, NYC; (2019) 38 Degrees, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China; (2018) Inaugural Exhibition, Le Musee Des Civilizations Noire, Dakar, Senegal; An Institution Reborn, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing, China; Drawn (over), The Museum of Contemporary Art, Vojvodina, Serbia; Monumental, JAYJAY, Sacramento, CA; Back to Black, NOVA Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL; (2017) International Group Show, Sheng Sheng International Gallery, Beijing, China; Selections 2017, Skoto Gallery, NYC; Draw Boston, MassArt Art Museum, Massachusetts University of Art & Design, Boston, MA; (2016) XVth Latin and Caribbean Contemporary Art Today, Promo-Arte, Tokyo, Japan; 25 Years of Redgate Gallery, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China; Reboot, JAYJAY, Sacramento, CA; Magic & Reality: Latin American and Caribbean Contemporary Art, Millennium World Art Museum, Beijing, China (Catalogue); Tour of World Art, China Art Museum, Shanghai, China (Catalogue); (2015) Draw Mapping Madness, Dali Contemporary Art Center, Gucheng, Dali, China (Catalogue); Afro Caribbean Art, Promo-Arte, Tokyo, Japan; (2014) Mapping Madness, Inside Out Art Museum, Beijing, China (Catalogue); Latin American Art Today, Promo-Arte, Tokyo, Japan; Black & Gray, Skoto Gallery, NYC; Micro-Art Exposition, Beijing Ninth Floor Museum (Catalogue); 2014 Exhibition of International Representational and Abstract Art, Contemporary Arts Center, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, China (Catalogue); (2013) Stronger than Fear is Hope, Schmalfuss Contemporary Fine Art, Berlin, Germany; 4321, Matthias Kuper Galleries, Beijing, China; (2012) 5th Beijing International Art Biennale, The National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China (Catalogue); Inaugural International Exhibition, Inside Out Art Museum, Beijing, China (Catalogue); (2011) Selections 11, Stephen D. Paine Gallery, Massachusetts University of Art & Design, Boston, MA; 20th Anniversary Show, Parish Gallery, Washington, DC; International Paper Art Show, Chung Shan National Gallery: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, Taipei, Taiwan; Dialogus: Mixing Culture Thru Art, Museum of Contemporary Art of Cuzco, Peru, Traveling exhibition; (2008) Inaugural Exhibition, International Curator: Peter Wayne Lewis, Sunshine International Art Museum, Beijing, China; Olympic Fine Arts 2008, International Exhibition Center, Beijing, China; Organized by the International Olympic Committee (Catalogue), Curator for Jamaica: Peter Wayne Lewis. Traveled to: Tia Mao Temple, Forbidden City; Marathon, Two Lines Gallery, Beijing, China; Biennial Exhibition, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica; (2007) 35th Anniversary of Jamaica and China Diplomatic Relations, Galleria on Third, Beijing, China (Catalogue – “Journeys”); (2006) New Possessions, An Island’s Independence: Jamaican Art on the 44th Anniversary of Jamaican Independence, Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC  (Catalogue); 15th Anniversary Show, Parish Gallery, Washington DC; Rhythmic Brushwork, Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA. Traveled to: Skylight Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; Karl Drerup Art Gallery, Plymouth University, Plymouth, NH; Handwerker Gallery, Ithaca College, NY; Sidney Mishkin Gallery, Baruch College, NYC; Clark  University Gallery, Atlanta, GA; 30th Anniversary & National Biennial Exhibition, Curator: Dr. David Boxer, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica; (2005/55) Begegnungen in der Neuen Mitte Europas: Licht und Schatten 2005-2055, Kunst Pyramid, Eschlkam-Stachesried, Germany, Project Coordinator, Dr. Stephan Neumeyer (Catalogue); (2005) paper | panel | canvas, Rosenberg + Kaufman Fine Art, NYC; (2004) Un-Convention, Rosenberg + Kaufman Fine Art, NYC; Selections 2004, Stephen D. Paine Gallery, Massachusetts University of Art & Design, Boston, MA; National Biennial, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica; (2003) Intrepid, Rosenberg + Kaufman Fine Art, NY; (2002) Exposition Magnet, Yassine Art Center, Dakar, Senegal; (2001/02) In the Fullness of Time, Curator: Dr. Catherine Amidon, Howard University, Washington, DC (Catalogue); (2001) 10th Anniversary Show, Parish Gallery, Washington, DC; Drawing Exhibition, Wakita Museum & Inokuma Genichiro Museum, Tokyo, Japan; (2000/02) Soon Come, Curator: Dr. Samela Lewis, The Lowe Art Museum, Coral Gables, FL (Catalogue). Traveling exhibition: Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NB DePaul  University Art  Gallery, Chicago, IL; Metropolitan State College, Denver, CO; Fleming Museum, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT; New Orleans Museum of Art, LA; (2000) Latin American and Caribbean Art, Miura Museum, Matsuyama, Japan; (1999) Dedicated to Milton Resnick: Painter’s Painters, Frederick Spratt Gallery, San Jose, CA (Catalogue); Visual Spirits of Latin America, Promo-Arte Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; (1997/9) Seeing Jazz, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (Book). Traveled to: Jazz Museum, NYC; Western Gallery, Bellingham, WA; Munson-Williams-Proctor Museum of Art, Utica, NY; Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN; Huntington Museum of Art, WV; Museum of the Southwest, Midland, TX; (1997) One of a Kind, Rosenberg + Kaufman Fine Art, NYC; (1995/98) Caribbean Visions, Curator: Dr. Samella Lewis, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (Catalogue). Traveled to: Miami Art Museum, FL New Orleans Museum of Art, LA; African American Museum, Dallas, TX; Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, VT; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT; Latin American Art Museum, Long Beach, CA; (1995) East Coast - West Coast, Frederick Spratt Gallery, San Jose, CA; (1994) Latin American & Caribbean Biennial, Museum of Modern Art Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Catalogue); (1993) The Tenth Summer, Rosenberg + Kaufman Fine Art, NYC; (1991) Pacific Rim Art Now, Otaru Municipal Museum, Sapporo, Japan (Catalogue); (1990) Art Document '90, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo, Japan (Catalogue); Positive Actions/Visual Aid, Institute for Contemporary Art, Clocktower Gallery, New York; Peter Lewis/Kelly Detweiler, American Center, Sapporo, Japan; Faculty Exhibition, Walter/McBean Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA; (1985) New Art in the West, Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco, CA; (1984) Paintings, Factory Place Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; (1979) Gallery ’79, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA;

EDUCATION: San Jose State University, Masters of Arts, California USA (1979); San Jose State University, Bachelor of Arts, California USA (1976)

LECTURES: Kingsley Art Club at Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA; The Delaware Contemporary, Delaware, MD; UCCA- Ullens Center of Contemporary Art Beijing, China; New York University, NYC – Quincy Troupe Renaissance Magazine; US Embassy, Beijing, China-Cultural Affairs Department (Catalog: The American Visual Arts in China); Drew University, Madison, NJ; University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, MA; Pratt Institute, NYC; Massachusetts University of Art and Design, MA; Syracuse University, NY; American Center Sapporo, Japan; University of California Berkley; San Francisco Art Institute, CA; San Jose State University, CA

CURATORIAL PROJECTS: (2018) White Anxieties, WhiteBox Harlem, NYC; (2014) Viewpoints: 20 Years of Adderly, MassArt Art Museum, Massachusetts University of Art & Design, Boston, MA; (2013) 4321, Matthias Kuper Galleries Stuttgart / Beijing, Beijing, China; (2012) Beijing Biennial, National Art Museum of China (NAMOC), Beijing, China; Exhibition of International Artists, Inside-Out Art Museum (IOAM), Beijing, China; (2008) Olympic Fine Art Exhibition, Convention Center Beijing, China; Grand Opening Sunshine International Art Museum Beijing, China; Queen Nanny of the Maroons, In conjunction with the Embassy of Jamaica, Two Lines Gallery, 798 District, Beijing, China; Perfume Painting, Two Lines Gallery, 798 District, Beijing, China; Boston High Tea #2 Master Print+ In conjunction with Massachusetts College of Art Foundation, Two Lines Gallery, 798 District, Beijing, China; Marathon, Two Lines Gallery, 798 District, Beijing, China

PRIZES & HONORS: (2011) Selected for ArtScope, New England’s Culture Magazine; (2008) Critic's Pick, The Sacramento Bee; Gold Medal, Olympic Fine Arts 2008 by the International Olympic Committee, International Exhibition Center, Beijing, China; (1991) The Peninsula's Best New Artist by Peninsula Magazine; (1984) KQED Art Award Exhibition, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA; Critic’s Choice, Dorothy Burkhart, Art section, San Jose Mercury News; Best in Show Award, Members Exhibition, San Jose Art Center, San Jose, CA.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS: (Current) Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts University of Art & Design, Boston, MA; Director, Oasis Gallery, Beijing, China; Director, Advisory Board, WhiteBox, Harlem, NYC; (Past) Director, Two Lines Gallery, Beijing, China; 2D Fine Arts Department Chairman, Massachusetts University of Art & Design, Boston; Adjunct Professor: Pratt Institute, New York; Syracuse University, New York; U.C. Berkeley, California; San Francisco Art Institute, California; San Jose State University, California.