Maine MILL (the Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor) is pleased to announce the opening of Drawn in Light, a compelling new exhibition that illuminates the creative process of Lewiston-born artist Charlie Hewitt. The exhibit opens on January 30, 2026 and offers visitors a rare look at Hewitt’s original doodles alongside their luminous LED neon creations.
Drawn in Light showcases the transformation from spontaneous sketches to bold neon works, emphasizing simplicity and visual impact. Hewitt’s art challenges the notion that meaning must always be hidden, presenting imagery that is exactly what they appear to be, while celebrating the spontaneity and playfulness at the heart of his creative practice.
“Maine MILL is thrilled to host Drawn in Light and share Charlie Hewitt’s work with our community,” said Rachel Ferrante, Executive Director of Maine MILL. “This exhibition not only highlights the artistry and inventive spirit of a Lewiston native, it invites visitors to see how everyday gestures, like a simple doodle can be amplified into something luminous and unforgettable.”
The exhibit also encourages audience engagement with a participatory doodle wall where visitors can add their own creative marks, fostering connection and playful expression throughout the gallery.
About the Artist
Charlie Hewitt’s practice is one of constant experimentation that began in the New York of the 1960s, initially influenced by the New York School. Though largely based on painting and drawing in those heady years, today Hewitt works in multiple media, including print making, drawing, painting, neon and LED-illuminated sculpture, metal, ceramic and digital art. What threads through all of these is an inescapable grounding in the freedom of drawing and the techniques of print making.
Whether this methodology results in imagery that is figurative or abstract, everything begins with drawing. His compulsive “doodling” feeds a visual iconography extrapolated from his richly varied life. Stylized tool shapes harken to carpentry work that funded his art career. Cards and dice refer to the gambles and risks of life, daring to win but willing to fail, all in the service of a creative life. Marquee signs allude to a magical, optimistic time of road travel in America, which were formative during road trips of his youth. But even the abstract shapes he employs in nonrepresentational compositions originate with pen or colored pencil on paper. Hewitt believes that the lexicon that arose from these doodles eventually helped release him from the shadow of New York School style.
Opening Reception: January 30, 2026 from 5-7pm
For more information about Maine MILL and its events and exhibits, visit www.mainemill.org or call 207-333-3881. The museum is located at 35 Canal Street in Lewiston and is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10am – 4pm.