OCTC'S Dayman Gallery Hosting KO Lewis Exhibit
Owensboro, KY (02/08/2024) — Owensboro Community & Technical College's Dayman Art Gallery is hosting an exhibit featuring KO Lewis through the end of February. Owensboro native KO Lewis is an education administrator and artist who works in acrylics and mixed media. His work is now on display in the Dayman Art Gallery, located on the upper level of the Learning Resource Center (LRE) on OCTC's Main Campus at 4800 New Hartford Road, Owensboro, Kentucky.
OCTC Dean of Students and Director of Culture Sharmy Davis helped facilitate the exhibit. She commented, "I encourage everyone to stop by the gallery to see his amazing work, which will be on display until the end of February." Lewis has evolved his process to be more inspirational to the viewer and to keep himself inspired. OCTC's videographer, Rodney Newton, met KO at his art studio for an interview in 2022, where KO discussed the inspiration for his artwork at the link or by visiting OCTC's YouTube channel.
On Thursday, February 8, at 9 a.m., KO Lewis will be in the gallery to discuss his artwork and the history behind each piece with students in OCTC's ACE (Academic, Career, Exploration) program. The event is free and open to the public.
OCTC's Dayman Gallery is open to the public from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; the KO Lewis exhibit will be available through February 29, 2024. For more information, please contact sharmy.davis@kctcs.edu .
Artist Statement: KO Lewis
As an artist, I've come to recognize the inherent need to create for self and allow for organic connections to happen naturally. In past works, I've created iconic portraits of popular figures from various genres of life with limited intent other than popularity. This methodology created some stunning visuals and led to attention, but it didn't speak to a need that fueled my passion. In the past several years my philosophy has changed. My intent and focus on who I create has changed. I've become driven to create art that possesses a mirrored effect on what I desire to see in me as well as in the world. I create visuals of those whose stories resonate with me and inspire me to continue to look within. In this process my goal is to inspire. Inspire myself, the viewer and the next generation of people who may need the spark of inspiration and thought. My goal of connecting with the viewer in this way is Contemporary Expressionism. The attempt to capture the energy and feel of the subject matter along with the usage of color and mood is my outward expression of internal self. For more works and insight into process visit @Lewis_Acrylics on Instagram.
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Owensboro Community & Technical College is one of the sixteen community and technical colleges that make up the Kentucky Community & Technical College System. OCTC serves the KY counties of Daviess, Hancock, Ohio and McLean. OCTC has three campuses in Daviess County and a Center and Annex in Hancock County. OCTC strives to serve the communities in the service area by providing associate degree education for transfer, state of the art technical education for students focusing on entering the workforce, customized business and industry solutions through the Workforce Solutions division, and adult education and business and industry testing through the SkillTrain unit.
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The Kentucky Community and Technical College System is the Commonwealth's largest postsecondary institution with 16 colleges and more than 70 campuses. We also are Kentucky's largest provider of workforce training and online education. Through partnerships with business and industry, we align our programs to meet the needs of local employers. We help students fulfill their dreams of creating a better life through programs that lead directly to jobs or help them transfer to one of our four-year partners.
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