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Steven J. Levin
The Locals - American Realist oil painting of a couple in a restaurant interior

2007

About the Item

A contemporary realist painting of a couple sitting at the booth of restaurant. The pale green wall lightens the space made up mostly of dark wood paneling. The woman sits nearer to the viewer, looking at the glass she holds while her partner stares intently at her, his right arm over the back of her side of the banquet while his left hand holds his drink on the table. An oval mirror in the foreground reflects the part of the space that the couple faces. Framed in a traditional gold frame Unframed dimensions: 28 x 24 inches Framed Dimensions 35.5 x 31.5 inches Steven J. Levin - (b. 1964) is classical realist oil painter living and working in Stillwater, Minnesota. He grew up painting alongside his father (a commercial artist) and knew he wanted to be a painter early on. After high school he enrolled in the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and later left to attend the Atelier LeSueur in Excelsior, Minnesota (a descendant of the 19th century Boston School ateliers)—where the training was more in line with what Levin was interested in learning. Levin remained at the atelier as a student for five years and then a teacher for seven more years. He completed his studies with an extended stay in England to join the copyist program at London’s National Gallery. Although he enjoyed working in The Boston School tradition, Levin started to draw inspiration from artists with richer pallets such as Vermeer and Edward Hopper. Levin’s reputation as a colorist is strong and getting stronger with each passing year. His compositions range from surrealistic still lifes to multifigure scenes to landscapes—all done with precision and careful consideration of color, light, tone and positioning of objects. His “visual-pun” paintings have delighted collectors and gallerists for years. This includes his “Plumage” series (which plays with the formal similarities of hats and bird’s nests), his “Books and Butterflies” series, and museum series (which depict paintings within paintings). Levin has exhibited widely and taken part in significant group and solo exhibitions in New York, London, San Fransisco, Beijing, and Barcelona. He has been featured on the cover of American Artist Magazine and has been the recipient of numerous awards and prizes in national competitions including the American Society of Portrait Artists, the Allied Artists of America, the Portrait Institute, American Artist's Magazine, the Artist’s Magazine, the Oil Painters of America and the American Artists Professional League. Most recently, he is the First Price recipient for the ARC 2016 Salon in the still life category. Artist Statement Essentially, my paintings are about beauty. Whether it be in my still life work, where I begin with a consideration of just the abstract elements of form and color, and then try to build interest with the careful arrangement of objects, or in the interior scenes which are usually about light, atmosphere, and mood, beauty is always the first subject. In some of my work I enjoy a kind of visual pun, as in the still life series called Plumage, where the juxtaposition of hats and bird’s nests are so similar in shape and with each having the element of feathers. The paintings of my museum series are undertaken with an implied wink at the depiction of paintings within paintings. Though I see painting as first and foremost a craft, it isn’t only that. Painting is about projecting that craft through a personality, memory and emotion in the attempt to capture an intangible thing which speaks in a language unavailable to any other mode of expression.
  • Creator:
    Steven J. Levin (1964, American)
  • Creation Year:
    2007
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 28 in (71.12 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Sag Harbor, NY
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: LEV-0060231stDibs: LU389310613202
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