S.O.N. A.R.T. presents: Amir M. Lyles, Visual Artist

I was born in Harlem, New York in 1971. My family moved to the Bronx in time to witness the birth of Hip Hop, where I lived (or watched from the apartment window) much of what most get vicariously through mass media. We returned to Harlem in 1980 where I stayed until relocating to Philadelphia in 1996. Though I did attend art focused public schools for junior and senior high, that\'s not where I learned my skills or developed my natural talent. I am primarily self-taught by watching my brothers, many hours of practice, trial & error, research--books, youtube, conversations with other artists, and more trial & error. Cartoons and graffiti kept me drawing when I wasn\'t otherwise into making visual art. Currently, I focus my efforts full-time on forwarding myself as a working/established artist. I am extremely versatile in media, as well as subject matter. I am an artist\'s artist. At various times, almost every room of the small house that I share with my muse and our five unschooled children has served as my studio and/or gallery.