About

Welcome to Yelena Lewis’s blog, featuring original artwork and writing in English and Russian by Yelena Lewis.

Yelena Lewis is a visual artist whose practice centres on figurative painting, often exploring myth, memory, and emotional resilience through oil, cold wax, and marouflage on canvas. Born in pre-Perestroika Moscow and now based in France, her work is shaped by a transnational life and a deep engagement with the universality of human emotion. Her paintings frequently feature solitary figures—sometimes mythological, sometimes anonymous—set against abstract or textured backgrounds, using both monochrome and bold block colour to evoke themes of transformation, resistance, and inner stillness.

Yelena Lewis has exhibited widely across Europe in both solo and group exhibitions, with her work featured in contemporary art fairs, digital platforms, and prestigious cultural heritage sites. Notably, her participation in the FABLE Exhibition at Écuries de Saint-Hugues in Cluny, France, was supported by a grant from the Cluny municipal council, underscoring local recognition of her artistic contribution. Her work has also been shown at historically and architecturally significant venues such as the Plexus Gallery in Montreux, Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva, the Château de Voltaire in Ferney-Voltaire, and Fort l’Écluse in Collonges. Exhibiting in these heritage sites not only situates her practice within a broader cultural and historical dialogue but also reflects the enduring relevance of her themes—identity, resilience, and emotional truth—within spaces that themselves embody layers of European history and transformation.

Yelena is a founding member of the Fables Association, an offshoot of the D137 Gallery in exile, and an active member of the No Name Collective. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when physical exhibitions were suspended, her work was featured in ZEST Hall’s inaugural digital exhibition, Protest for Progress, in partnership with Leeds City Museum. Her paintings also appeared in 1340ART Magazine and received full-page features in two editions of the No Name Collective Quarterly.

Her work has been praised by critics for its emotional depth and visual clarity. Renowned art critic Sabino Vona described her paintings as capturing “the colour of emotion,” while Suzanne Bel noted that her compositions “capture the poetry of movement in rich colour schemes.”

Yelena’s recent works, including Bluebells, Tulips, and Ropewalker, were created in response to the war in Ukraine, reflecting her opposition to violence and her belief in the power of art as a form of quiet resistance. Whether through mythological figures, botanical symbolism, or meditative portraits, her work invites viewers into a space of reflection, empathy, and shared humanity.

Further information on

https://www.facebook.com/Yelena-Lewis-224541213706

https://www.instagram.com/lewisalyona

https://www.nonamecollectivegallery.co.uk

https://twitter.com/search?q=yelena+l.

https://www.saatchiart.com/account/profile/300879

https://www.singulart.com/en/artist/yelena-lewis-7577?campaign_id=1049

http://www.galleriameera.com/upcoming-exhibitions

 

 

Past Exhibitions

 

2024

  • June–July – FABLE Exhibition, Écuries de Saint-Hugues, Cluny, France (Collective)

2022

  • July–September – Pax Mundi, Plexus Gallery, Montreux, Switzerland (Collective)

2021

  • December–January – The Looking Glass and Through It, Museum of Modern Art, St. Petersburg, Russia (Collective)

 2020

  • June – Protest for Progress, in partnership with ZEST Hall and Leeds City Museum, Online (Collective)

2018

  • July – Parallax Art Fair, Kensington, London, UK (Collective)

2017

  • July – As it Stands, 100 Year Gallery, London, UK (Collective)
  • March – Travelling Light, Geneva, Switzerland (Solo)

2016

  • December – Art Market, Villa Dutoit, Geneva, Switzerland (Collective)
  • December – A Night in Paris, Ballet Christmas Show, Salon du Lac, Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, Geneva, Switzerland (Collective)
  • May – Melodies’émotions, Galerie d’Anières, Anières, Switzerland (Collective)

2015

  • December – Izba 3, La Ruine Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland (Collective)

2013

  • April – Look to the East, Look to the West, La Ruine Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland (Solo)

2012

  • April – Villa Dutoit, Geneva, Switzerland (Collective) 10
  • February – Les Toiles Filantes, Annemasse, France (Collective)

2011

  • July – Postcards from Japan, Château de Voltaire, Orangerie, Ferney-Voltaire, France (Solo)
  • June – Galerie Les Toiles Filantes, Annemasse, France (Solo)
  • May – Club “Ethno”, Geneva, Switzerland (Solo)

2010

  • December – La Ruine Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland (Collective)
  • July – Halle Nord, Geneva, Switzerland (Collective)
  • May – Ge Grave, Geneva, Switzerland (Collective)

2007

  • October – Salle Victor Duruy, Cluny, France (Solo)
  • October – Words are not Enough, Cisterna di Latina, Italy (Solo)
  • November – La Ruine Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland (Collective)

2006

  • December – La Ruine Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland (Collective)
  • June – L’Arcade Chausse Coqs, Geneva, Switzerland (Solo)

2005

  • December – Lez’Arts de Saint Julien, Saint Julien, France (Collective)
  • May – Palais de Nations, Geneva, Switzerland (Solo)
  • May – L’Arcade Chausse Coqs, Geneva, Switzerland (Solo)

2004

  • December – Lez’Arts de Saint Julien, Saint Julien, France (Collective)
  • December – Salle Maurice Raisain, Léaz, France (Collective)
  • July – Fort l’Écluse, Collonges, France (Collective)

2003

  • May – Mairie de Ferney-Voltaire, Ferney-Voltaire, France (Collective