Brandon V. Lewis

FERRARA SHOWMAN GALLERY is pleased to announce the second solo exhibition of Baton Rouge-based painter Brandon V. Lewis entitled Uninterrupted Black. The exhibition surveys fifteen new paintings in the artist’s ongoing exploration of Black Delight. Lewis’ works documents and honors Black family and culture through ceremony, music, and humor: church congregations, weddings, funerary second-lines, beauty pageants, baking contests . . . with a particular observance of regional traditions combined with personal tales and reflections. 

Uninterrupted Black is a celebration of Black joy and the quiet resilience that allows it to exist even in the presence of sorrow. Within the Black experience, joy has never been separate from struggle. It has been forged in it, carried through it, and expressed in ways that refuse to be silenced.Through vibrant color, movement, and familiar moments of gathering, the works in this exhibition honor the ways Black communities continue to create spaces of laughter, music, fellowship, and love. These moments are not an escape from hardship but a declaration that joy will persist regardless of the weight placed upon it. Rooted in memory, culture, and shared experience, Uninterrupted Black reflects the beauty of a people who have always found ways to sing, dance, celebrate, and uplift one another. It is a reminder that Black joy is not fragile. It is enduring, defiant, and above all, uninterrupted. 

The exhibition will be on view 7 April through 23  May 2026 with an opening reception on 2 May from 5-8 PM as part of the Arts District New Orleans’ First Saturday Gallery Openings.

Lewis expounds on this suite of new paintings . . . 

Uninterrupted Black is an extension of my ongoing commitment to honoring the fullness of Black life…its beauty, its weight, and the quiet, powerful ways it endures. My work is rooted in memory, community, and the everyday moments that often go unnoticed but carry the deepest meaning. I am interested in the spaces where joy and sorrow meet, where resilience is not always loud, but steady, present, and unyielding.

Through bold color, exaggerated form, and expressive figures, I aim to capture the spirit of gathering…those familiar scenes filled with music, laughter, storytelling, and connection. These are the moments that have shaped me, the ones that remind us who we are and whose we are. They are not separate from struggle; they exist alongside it, as acts of resistance and affirmation.

My figures often occupy space unapologetically. They are full, vibrant, and alive…refusing to shrink or be minimized. In them, I explore themes of body, presence, and visibility, pushing back against narratives that attempt to define or limit Black identity. There is power in being seen, and even more power in choosing how we are seen.

This work is also deeply personal. It is informed by the people who raised me, the communities that continue to pour into me, and the cultural traditions that have sustained generations before me. Each piece serves as both a reflection and a offering…a way to give thanks, to remember, and to celebrate.

Ultimately, Uninterrupted Black is about continuity. It is about the ways we carry joy forward, how we protect it, and how we pass it on. It is a declaration that even in the face of adversity, Black life remains rich, dynamic, and beautifully unbroken.

Brandon V. Lewis is a Baton Rouge, Louisiana–based visual artist whose work dwells at the intersection of memory, faith, family, and the lived experiences of Black life in the American South. Working primarily in acrylic and layered mixed media, Lewis creates figurative compositions that pulse with color, rhythm, and emotional depth, echoing the cultural and spiritual traditions that shape his world.

His paintings are both intimate and expansive, rooted in personal narrative yet resonant with collective memory. Drawing inspiration from Southern culture, gospel music, ancestral traditions, and the quiet poetry of everyday life, Lewis transforms familiar moments into sacred visual testimonies. Each work becomes an offering, honoring the resilience, beauty, and enduring spirit found within Black communities.

Lewis approaches his practice as an act of remembrance and reverence. Through gesture, texture, and layered materials, he constructs visual spaces where past and present meet, where joy and sorrow coexist, and where the ordinary is elevated to the divine. His work invites viewers not only to see, but to feel, to recall, and to recognize themselves within the stories being told.

In doing so, Brandon V. Lewis continues a tradition of artists who bear witness to their communities, creating work that affirms identity, preserves legacy, and celebrates the sacredness woven into everyday life.

For more information, press or sales inquiries please contact Gallery Director Matthew Weldon Showman at 504.343.6827 or matthew@ferrarashowman.com. Please join the conversation with FSG on social media:  @FerraraShowmanGallery + _BLewis + @ArtsDistrictNewOrleans.