HAIKU: JO LEWIS
Haiku
In this exhibition, Jo Lewis’s recent watercolours reach a profound yet understated place. Echoing the mirrored, poetic structure of the haiku, this series of twenty paintings explores the boundaries of a pre-defined space. Within these limits, she turns toward the most essential elements. The mark-making is pared back to its essence, the palette restrained, the scale intimate.
Bashō (Japanese 17th-century poet)
Is there any good in saying everything?
The appreciation of haiku is a collaboration between poet and reader: one exposes something to the light, the other brings it into fullness. It is both half-stated and under-stated. David Cobb
Each painting begins with a single horizontal brushmark - a gesture that organises the white space. The second, and each that follows, responds to the last as Lewis seeks the internal logic that binds them in an additive process. Through this sequence, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Each mark is integral to the next, forming a quiet poetry. Confronting the blank page, the first stroke dismantles its void and transforms absence into presence - a concept echoing Lee Ufan’s reflections on the “pulsations of the invisible,” in which all things are permeated.
The transparency and uncompromising nature of watercolour are fully apparent in this series: each painting is a complete record of its own making. Repeated gestures - the horizontal brushmarks - reveal differences and points of departure within the confines of the space.
Within the series, colour and transparency assumes a central role, valued not only for its sensory force but also for the relationships that emerge with neighbouring pigments, often visible only at an edge, an overlap, or an underlay. It is here that the works’ most subtle and complex qualities emerge.
Awareness and acceptance are hallmarks of haiku, and they give rise to an affirmative attitude toward solitude, loss, and even pain. David Cobb
Put simply: you must be quiet to see these works. Quietude is a state of attention. There are no thoughts, only watching and listening. Time suspends. A gentle bliss follows.
All the works are for sale:
Framed with museum glass: £520
Unframed: £390
Prices are inclusive of VAT on the margin scheme
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Jo Lewis - HAIKU
18 November 2025 - 20 January 2026
Online Exhibition
HAIKU presents twenty new watercolours by Jo Lewis, a series that embraces the concise, mirrored structure of the haiku to explore what can be achieved within deliberately narrow limits.
Each painting begins with a single horizontal brushmark that anchors the white space. Subsequent marks respond to the last, forming an additive sequence in which the logic of the work gradually reveals itself. The transparency of watercolour leaves every decision visible; repetition exposes subtle shifts and departures.
Colour appears sparingly but with purpose, valued as much for the relationships formed at its edges as for its sensory impact. These small intersections - an overlap, an underlay, a near-invisible tint - are where the works’ most delicate complexities reside.
The sensibility of haiku runs throughout: what is half-stated carries weight. Bashō’s question, “Is there any good in saying everything?”, and David Cobb’s observation that haiku relies on a collaboration between maker and reader, both resonate here. These paintings ask for quiet attention. Time slows. Presence deepens.
Press enquiries: press@viviennerobertsprojects.com
A distilled series of twenty watercolours in which Jo Lewis uses haiku-like restraint - minimal marks, subtle colour, quiet attention - to reveal depth within strict, intimate bounds.
