| Tomar
Levine
The still life paintings
of Tomar Levine are unusual in both subject matter and execution.
These highly focused renderings
of natural objects, sometimes arranged in symmetrical groupings,
seem full of enigmatic significance, supporting some unknown
ritual.
They also evoke other kinds of space (architectural space
or figures in a mute drama) while remaining powerfully involved
with the identity and material nature of each object-seashell,
stone or bottle. The tactile nature of each form is conveyed
with a clarity and intensity that is the result of a process
of slow accretion. Each painting takes months to develop. This
process of long slow looking contributes to a fineness of drawing,
a fullness of color and modeling, and to a rich paint surface.
Thus the paintings themselves achieve a strong physical
presence as do the objects depicted in them.
The pieces have about them a purity
and balance that offer repose and freedom from tension. Though
complex, they seem simple. The replacement of each object is
critical in these canvasses. The significance in the arrangement
of the objects is much deeper than the physical objects
themselves. These compositions project a metaphysical stillness
not easily described.
In their clarity of form and light these works are reminiscent
of the contemplative still lifes of 17th century Holland and
France. But the imagery, with its symbolic tensions, is clearly
of our time.
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Selected Exhibitions:
Paul Kessler Gallery, Provincetown, Ma. Prince Street Gallery,
New York City Westmoreland County Museum of Art, Pa. Alpha
Gallery, Boston, Ma.
Paperworks Gallery, Larchmont, New' York Gallery G Fine Arts,
Wichita, Kansas Islip Town Art Gallery, New York Capricorn
Gallery, Bethesda, Md.
Gallery 700, Milwaukee, Wi.
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