Josef Levi

Op Art 1971 Kinetic Oil Painting Pop Art Artist

1971

Josef Alan Levi (1938) is an American artist whose works range over a number of different styles, but which are unified by certain themes consistently present among them. Josef Levi began his artistic career in the 1960s and early '70s, producing highly abstract and very modernist pieces: these employing exotic materials such as light fixtures and metallic parts. By 1975, Levy had transitioned to painting and drawing still lifes. At first these were, traditionally, of mundane subjects. Later, he would depict images from art history, including figures originally created by the Old Masters. Around 1980, he made another important shift, this time toward creating highly precise, though subtly altered reproductions of pairs of female faces which were originally produced by other artists. It is perhaps this work for which he is most well known. Since around 2000, Josef Levi has changed the style of his work yet again: now he works entirely with computers, using digital techniques to abstract greatly from art history, and also from other sources. Levi's works of art in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, NYC, the National Gallery of Art, and the Albright-Knox Museum, among many others. Levi's art has been featured on the cover of Harper's Magazine twice, once in June 1987, and once in May 1997. Josef Levi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1959 from the University of Connecticut, where he majored in fine arts and minored in literature. From 1959 to 1960, he served to a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and from 1960 through 1967 he was in the U.S. Army Reserves. In 1966, he received the Purchase Award from the University of Illinois in 1966, and he was featured in New Talent U.S.A. by Art in America. He was an artist in residence at Appalachian State University in 1969, taught at Farleigh Dickenson University in 1971 and was a visiting professor of art at Pennsylvania State University in 1977. From 1975 to 2007, Levi resided in New York City. He now lives in an apartment in Rome, where he is able to paint with natural light as he was unable in New York. From 1959 to 1960, Josef took some courses of Howard McParlin Davis and Meyer Schapiro at Columbia University which initiated him into the techniques of reproducing the works of the Old Masters. His first works, created in the 1960s, were wood and stone sculptures of women. His first mature works were abstract pieces, constructed of electric lights and steel. In 1970, Levi's materials included fluorescent light bulbs, Rust-Oleum and perforated metal in addition to paint and canvas. By 1980, Josef Levi's art had transformed into a very specific form: a combination of reproductions of female faces which were originally depicted by other artists. The faces which he reproduces may be derived from either portraits or from small portions of much larger works; they are taken from paintings of the Old Masters, Japanese ukiyo-e, and 20th-century art. Artists from whom he has borrowed include: Vermeer, Rembrandt, Piero della Francesca, Botero, Matisse, Utamaro, Correggio, Da Vinci, Picasso, Chuck Close, Max Beckmann, Pisanello, Lichtenstein. The creation of these works is informed by Levi's knowledge and study of art history. Josef Levi's paintings from this period are drawn, then painted on fine linen canvas on wooden stretchers. The canvas is coated with twenty-five layers of gesso in order to produce a smooth surface on which to work. The drawing phase takes at least one month. Levi seals the drawing with acrylic varnish, and then he may apply layers of transparent acrylic in order to approximate the look of old paintings. After the last paint is applied, another layer of acrylic varnish is sprayed on to protect the work. Most of the figures in his contemporary pieces are not paired with any others. SELECTED COLLECTIONS MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK, NY ALBRIGHT- KNOX GALLERY, BUFFALO, NY ALDRICH MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, RIDGEFIELD, CT NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON, DC BROOKLYN MUSEUM OF ART, BROOKLYN, NY SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY, WASHINGTON, DC CORCORAN GALLERY, WASHINGTON, DC UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME ART...

Ya'acov Kaszemacher, well-known artist and photographer whose unique images of Hassidic festivities are fascinating to view, and offer one an opportunity to peek into the community...

VICTOR VASARELY (1908-1997) CHOKK-MINI C, 1988. Colored paper collage, signed in black ink lower right Titled, signed, dated and numbered 'VAS-440' on the verso; Frame: 24.75" x 18" ...

Victor Vasarely (1908-1997) Axo This piece is hand signed and numbered circa 1972-1977 I have seen it described as enamel on steel and enamel on aluminium. it is a serigraph on meta...

Bold, colorful, still life oil painting of a pear. In lush, vibrant color. SUZANNE WALLACE MEARS During college she focused on painting and clay. Then it became photography and clay, then only clay, then kiln formed glass and today its kiln formed glass, painting and plasma cut steel sculpture. She also works in oil paint and encaustic. Reminiscent of the color works of Jim DIne and the fruit paintings of Tom Seghi. She never works with only one medium. She uses color and texture to create energetic, luminous, joyous works with the glass. Bright, bold color using reds, blues, oranges reflect my travels in color saturated countries such as Tibet, Nepal, China and Mexico. At random I use solid color fields as a challenge to my driving love of vibrant color. Her favorite themes are inspired by nature and antiquity. Kiln formed glass uses flat sheets of glass which are cut into shapes, layered and incorporate accessory elements of frits, copper wire and mesh, pieces of sheet copper or brass and dichroic glass fired in a kiln. EDUCATION BA, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, 1964 Graduate School, 44 hours, double major Summer School University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 1963 Master Class, Patty Gray Instructor, tde Glass Furnace, Turkey Master Class, Richard La Londe...

Roger Lersy, French (1920 - 2004) Oil on canvas Signed, R. Lersy, dated 1961 lower right Measuring 35 X 31 Matted and framed. sight 26 X 21.5 Roger Lersy was born in Paris, France 1920, in the rough neighborhood surrounding Place Pigalle. His youth was marked by extreme poverty. Lersy studied art and music at the École des Arts Apppliqués. He was a painter, lithographer and musician-composer He belongs to the École de Paris and was a member in the movement of the Young Painting. By 1946, when he first exhibited in Paris, Lersy became one of the founders of the School of Paris’ New Graphic School. Lersy received the Prix des Amateurs d’Art in 1953, the Shell Prize in 1954 and the Grand Prize of the City of Marseilles in 1953. Lersy could be defined as a Baroque expressionist. For Bernard Dorival, Roger Lersy is along with Gabriel Dauchot, Jean Commère and Raymond Guerrier among "the most noted champions of this expressionism which is part of the continuation of Bernard Buffet's miserabilism". Famous works: New Year's Eve , Aubusson tapestry of the Manufacture des Gobelins , Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations , One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza , New York . Venice , bridges , watercolor, 1963 (theme of the Roger Lersy exhibition, Chicago). The poppy , original lithograph, Imprimerie Bellini, 1978, collection of the Cabinet des estampes , BNF . Still life at the pedestal table , oil on canvas, Jonzac town hall. Lohengrin , oil on canvas, Versailles Administrative Court of Appeal. Portrait of the painter Tony Agostini , drawing. Series Eiffel Tower. Stained glass: Saint-Laurent Church, Longlaville ( Meurthe-et-Moselle ), 29 stained glass windows. Musical works: Stained glasses for clarinet , saxophone, cello and percussion , creation in the church of Longlaville, 1972. Three pieces for two waves Martenot : 1. Scum of dream, 2. Scare and jubilation. Malicious connivance, sheet music Editions A. Leduc, Paris, 1979. Work for trumpet and piano , published by Éditions G. Billaudot, Paris, 1984. Five pieces for piano , scores published by G. Billaudot, Paris, 1989. Five preludes for piano and alto saxophone , scores at Éditions Combre, premiere at Flâneries musicales de Reims , 1993. In memory of Chagall , piece for flute and percussion , recording of Duo Hyksos (Henri Tournier, flute and Michel Gastaud, percussion) in 1995. Preface in black and yellow for horn and piano , score at Éditions Combre, Arc-en-ciel collection, 2000. Soundtracks: Diatomées Note 4 , 19 , film by Jean Painlevé...

An abstract painting by Tony Bechara from 2001. An abstract, optical painting representative of the artists conceptual principles of color usage, organization and randomness. Artist...

An abstract painting by Tony Bechara from 1984. An abstract, optical painting representative of Bechara's conceptual principles of color usage, organization and randomness. Artist...

An oil painting by Holger Bäckström from 1979. A mixed media collage and oil painting produced by the company Beck & Jung, a collaborative duo between Holger Bäckström and Bo Ljungberg in the 1960's-70's. Their emphasis on highly designed optical art-style is eminent in the objects produced from Beck & Jung. Artist: Holger Bäckström and Bo Ljungberg (aka Beck & Jung), Scandanavian (1939 - 1997 and 2007) Title: Night Nurse...

Horizon Original Op Art Painting 1978 Artist signed and dated. Marko Spalatin (American, Born 1945). An original Modern Abstract Op-Art oil painting on canvas. Titled "Horizon". Featuring colors of white, yellow, orange, green, purple, and blue. Signed and dated 1978 with title on verso. Mounted on wood stretcher. Provenance: 11/10/2007 Ivey-Selkirk Auction, LOT 775. PERMANENT COLLECTIONS Musée d'Art Moderne — Paris, France Museum of Modern Art — New York, New York Tate Gallery — London, England Bibliothèque National — Paris, France Victoria & Albert Museum — London, England Library of Congress — Washington, D.C. Museum of Contemporary Art — Chicago, Illinois Metropolitan Museum — Manila, Philippines Philadelphia Museum of Art — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Butler Institute of American Art — Youngstown, Ohio Museum of Modern Art — Belgrade, Yugoslavia Milwaukee Art Museum...

A three dimensional quadratic figure composed of staggered cubes floats amidst a sea of two dimensional squares. In this stunning original acrylic painting, Yvaral plays with the pur...

Ferruccio Gard (Italy, 1940) is one of the pioneers and leading artist representatives of the Neo-Constructivist art, Programmed Art and Optical Art, which he has practiced since 196...