|
 ALEX
LEVIN: VISION OF VENETIAN CARNIVAL
To look at Alex Levin’s artwork is always a
pleasure. This time, young Israeli painter transports a viewer into
a mysterious realm of Venice, carnival and hidden faces. It is Alex
Levin first advancement to a completely new subject matter.
Previously an artist was admired for his true understanding of
Judaic painting, capturing true essence and beauty of Jewish
inhabitants of Jerusalem. Recent attempt in latest series Venice
through the Mask’s Eyes plays a role in re-discovering Venetian
carnival in most successful and witty manner.
Originally Alex Levin comes from Kiev, capital if Ukraine, where he
was born in 1975 and later on attended Art Academy, which he
graduated with honors. In 1990 Alex Levin immigrated to Israel,
where he continues to live in a city of Herzeliya. With most
productive and hectic schedule, Alex Levin finds additional time to
grow as an artist and studies new techniques with Professor Baruch
Elton who is the Chairman of Israel Artist Association.
Artwork of Alex Levin admired worldwide and was purchased for
numerous private, corporate and institutional collections in the
United States of America, Israel, France, Italy, Ukraine,
Switzerland and Belgium. A young artist, who just have turned thirty
years old, was directly acknowledged by many influential figures
including actor and producer Richard Gere, Madonna, Canadian Jazz
player Oscar Peterson and former president of Israel Ezer Weizmann.
Venice through the Mask’s Eyes started out as recognition by Venice
Academy of Art of some oil on canvas paintings by Alex Levin, which
where awarded with a scholarship to continue a development into
series of artworks. An artist’s new vision of a carnival takes a
completely unique approach and presents a viewer with a lavish and
most prominent feature of Venetian carnival – the Mask. Pictorial
decision chosen by Alex Levin combines two genres – landscape
painting and figurative representation, without loosing a quality or
effectiveness. We are literary viewing panoramas of Venice, at its
most glorious time, thought the eyes of a Mask. Painted in an
original manner of 16th century technique of tempera and oil, Mask
is ongoing theme that occupies Alex Levin over and over. This
allegorical context almost takes a wider range of responsibility and
speaks of a cosmological depiction of a mankind.
Long nose of Venetian Mask has been long a symbol of a city. One who
wears it is to fulfill a secret desire and bear a new “face”,
seeking a refuge to an authentic feeling under a mask. Venetian
carnival becomes a time and place where once a year everyone who
desires a change can create a new identity. Alex Levin picks up a
vibe and plays with an idea through imbedding rich palette, gold
leaf and elaborated head pieces of a carnival into his canvas and
makes it all to reborn for the viewer. An airy atmosphere permeating
the landscape, its extreme clarity and precision on detail all of it
is given to us on a platter. Violet light of a sun dawn hitting
roofs of classical buildings, stones palazzos, gondoliers and their
passengers, ripples on a surface of a canal, we take it all through
the eyes of a beautiful Mask. Unique and dominant, flowered with
rich fabrics, feathers and jewels, Mask is a vision of sensuality
and intrigue.
It is no longer necessary to arrive at the carnival in order to
experience it. All there is to exist in a Venetian carnival, which
is colorful and full of pleasure laid directly in front of a viewer.
Judge for yourself this rear jewel - Alex Levin’s Venice through the
Mask’s Eyes series. Oil on canvas and limited edition giclees are on
display at Art Levin Inc., Staten Island, NY.
Lena Victoria Zaritsky
Art Historian/Consultant
Artists Statement
|
