Joseph Levin was an artist in New York and Paris, born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1894 and died in New York in 1979. His abstract paintings reflect the influence of the avant-garde movements of these great centers of art. He was promoted by the famous French art critic George Waldemar, who is noted for discovering Chaim Soutine. While living in Russia, Levin was influenced by the Pioneer Russian abstract painter Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935), who was the first to exhibit abstract paintings in 1913 and published The Non-Objective World in 1926, describing his Suprematist theories. Malevich’s influence on Avante-Garde artists was so important that some art historians claim without him there would be no Marcel Duchamp. In 1922, Levin traveled to China and exhibited his paintings in Peking and Tianjin, where Chinese calligraphy would influence his abstract works. Prior to1925, he moved to Paris, becoming part of the School of Paris painters. This group of painters included such notables as Marc Chagall (1887-1985), who also traveled between Russia and Paris; and Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) among many other notables. Levin’s early works combine his study of Suprematist theories in Russia, Chinese calligraphy and School of Paris influences including Chagall’s dreamlike mixture of cubism, folklore and country life. He moved to New York after World War II and continued to explore theories of Surconsciencilisme. His theory was similar to that of Mark Rothko (1903-1970), Adolf Gottlieb (1903-74) and Barnett Newman’s (1905-1970) use of mythology and writings of Freud and Jung concerning dreams and archetypes of collective unconscious operating in a space of human consciousness that transcends specific history and culture. A show in 1959 at Galerie Marcel Bernheim in Paris exhibited modern works from this period. Recently a large number of abstract works were found in an attic that were originally from Levin's estate, which has renewed research and interest in his works.
Mid-Century Abstract Expressionist Gouache on Paper, Signed, 41x55 cm
By Joseph Levin
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid-century abstract expressionist geometric gouache on paper by Russian artist Joseph Levin. Signed to the bottom right and presented in a black passepartout. This artwork is a str...
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
$453
H 19.75 in W 25.5 in
Mid Century French Abstract Expressionist Black Ink Minimalist Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Mid Century French Abstract Expressionist Black Ink Minimalist Painting Medium: Black ink/ gouache painting on paper, unframed French, circa 1950's Size: 19.75 inches x 25.75 ...
Paper, Ink, Gouache
$507
H 19.75 in W 25.25 in
Mid Century French Abstract Reclining Figure Expressionist Ink Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Mid Century French Abstract Reclining Figure Expressionist Ink Painting Medium: Black ink/ gouache painting on paper, unframed French, circa 1950's Size: 19.75 inches x 25.25 ...
Paper, Ink, Gouache
$473
H 24.75 in W 18.75 in
Mid Century French Abstract Tree Expressionist Ink Gouache Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Mid Century French Abstract Tree Expressionist Ink Gouache Painting Medium: Black ink/ gouache painting on paper, unframed French, circa ...
Paper, Ink, Gouache
$473
H 25.75 in W 19.75 in
Mid Century French Abstract Expressionist Black Ink Gestural Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Mid Century French Abstract Expressionist Black Ink Gestural Painting Medium: Black ink/ gouache painting on paper, unframed French, circa 1950's Size: 25.75 inches x 19.75 (h...
Paper, Ink, Gouache
$4,900
H 63 in W 51.19 in D 1.58 in
French Contemporary Art by Sandra Detourbet - Le Célestine
By Sandra Detourbet
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink, gouache on canvas & handmade paper Sandra Detourbet is a French artist born in 1967 who works & lives in Ivry-sur-Seine, near Paris. She is graduated in 1997 from ENSAD in Pari...
Canvas, Gouache, Handmade Paper, Ink
$4,000
H 7.88 in W 7.88 in
"Appi" Amaranth Ehrenhalt, Unique Painting, Woman Abstract Expressionism, 2003
By Amaranth Ehrenhalt
Located in New York, NY
Amaranth Ehrenhalt (1928–2021) Appi 13, 2003 Gouache and watercolor on thick paper Painting: 20 x 20 cm l 8 x 8 in. Frame: 33 x 33 cm l 13 x 13 in. Signed, titled and dated Amarant...
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
$473
H 25.25 in W 19.75 in
Mid Century French Abstract Expressionist Ink Wash Modernist Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Mid Century French Abstract Expressionist Ink Wash Gestural Painting Medium: Black ink and wash on paper, unframed French, circa 1950...
Paper, Ink, Gouache
$487
H 23.75 in W 15.75 in
Mid Century French Abstract Tree Expressionist Ink Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Mid Century French Abstract Tree Expressionist Ink Painting Medium: Black ink and wash on paper, unframed French, circa 1950's Size: 23.75 inches x 15.75 (height x width) Condition: The work is structurally sound though with visible creasing, surface rippling and age related toning throughout the sheet. There is a horizontal fold line across the centre and light edge wear consistent with storage. The ink remains bold and stable. This would benefit from professional flattening and framing. Provenance: from a large collection in Paris Description: A striking mid-century French abstract expressionist ink painting on paper, executed in bold black gestural marks with a strong sense of movement and rhythm. The composition reads as a lively field of calligraphic brushwork, with sweeping strokes, broken textures, and clustered forms that suggest foliage, energy, or a landscape fragment without becoming literal. The confident use of black against the raw paper creates a dramatic, graphic impact, making this an ideal piece for modern interiors, particularly for collectors drawn to monochrome abstraction, post-war European modernism, and expressive works on paper. In this particularly powerful example, the abstract gestures resolve into a sculptural tree form. A thick, sweeping trunk rises from the lower edge of the sheet, curving upward into branching limbs that extend dramatically across the upper half of the composition. The bold, loaded brushstrokes create dense black passages, contrasted with dry-brushed edges that reveal the speed and physicality of execution. The central mass gives the composition weight and presence, while the upward branching creates a sense of growth and vitality. The organic structure is rendered through expressive, economical mark making, aligning closely with the spirit of post-war French Art Informel and modernist landscape abstraction. This fabulous mid century original French expressionist abstract tree painting...
Paper, Ink, Gouache
$6,500
H 51.19 in W 82.68 in D 1.97 in
French Contemporary Art by Sandra Detourbet - L'indivisible
By Sandra Detourbet
Located in Paris, IDF
Gouache on canvas & handmade paper Sandra Detourbet is a French artist born in 1967 who works & lives in Ivry-sur-Seine, near Paris. She is graduated...
Canvas, Handmade Paper, Gouache
$480
H 25.75 in W 19.75 in
Mid Century French Abstract Expressionist Ink Wash Gestural Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Mid Century French Abstract Expressionist Ink Wash Gestural Painting Medium: Black ink and wash on paper, unframed French, circa 1950...
Paper, Ink, Gouache
$521
H 18.75 in W 25 in
Mid Century French Abstract Reclining Nude Expressionist Ink Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Mid Century French Abstract Reclining Nude Expressionist Ink Painting Medium: Black ink/ gouache painting on paper, unframed French, circa 1950's Size: 18.75 inches x 25 (heig...
Paper, Ink, Gouache
$2,800
H 28.75 in W 45.67 in D 1.58 in
French Contemporary Art by Sandra Detourbet - La Reprise
By Sandra Detourbet
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink, gouache on canvas & handmade paper Sandra Detourbet is a French artist born in 1967 who works & lives in Ivry-sur-Seine, near Paris. She is grad...
Ink, Handmade Paper, Canvas, Gouache
Sold
H 51 in W 38 in
Sur-Consciencilisme, Centrifuge, large abstract impressionist painting on canvas
By Joseph Levin
Located in Cotignac, FR
Large Abstract Expressionist oil on canvas by Joseph Levin (1894 -1979). This important early work forms part of his exploration and elaboration in abstract form of his idea of a centrifugal force, the universal movement he called 'Sur -Consciencilisme'. Levin was born in St Petersburg in 1894. he studied at the Imperial Institute in Moscow and the National Academy of Design in New York. He was thus fortunate to spend his most artistically productive years in the cultural capitals of Moscow, New York and later between 1926 and 1935 in Paris. He studied with and was influenced by the Russian avant-garde artists Mikhail Larionov and Kazimir Malevich, New York abstract expressionists Mark Rothko and Adolf...
Canvas, Oil
Abstract Expressionist Composition
By Joseph Levin
Located in Buffalo, NY
Modernist-style abstract painting by Joseph Levin (1894-1979). Oil on canvas, circa 1960. Signed lower right, "Levin". Displayed in a giltwood frame, hang...
Canvas, Oil