Jan Murphy Gallery presents Don’t Forget to Breathe, an exhibition of approximately 60 small paintings by Australian artist Richard Lewer, exploring the fragmented nature of contemporary experience and the constant flow of information, memory and everyday encounters.
Drawing on news stories, personal experiences, observations and passing moments, Lewer’s paintings move between subjects as diverse as natural phenomena, global tragedies, family, humour and everyday life. A storm over a suburban street, birds crossing a road, MH370 suspended above trees, a vase of flowers and Uluru after rain become fragments in a wider reflection on how we process the world around us.
The exhibition considers the way digital news feeds place catastrophe alongside triviality, continually shifting our attention between the serious and the inconsequential. Through an accumulation of images, Lewer reveals how our experiences are shaped by association, memory and emotion rather than a coherent narrative.
The title serves as both an instruction and a reminder to pause amid the relentless arrival of information. Humour, observation and painting become ways of making sense of the world and finding moments of connection within its complexity.
Richard Lewer won the 2026 Archibald Prize for his portrait of senior APY artist and Ngangkari (traditional healer) Iluwanti Ken. His work is held in major public collections across Australia and New Zealand.
