Levine Print

Part of my concerns are with the inherent qualities of particular materials, such as sheet metal, wood, paper, wax, plaster, and clay. Beyond an Oriental sensitivity to simple materials and natural processes, I am interested in the irregularities and imperfections that result from the activity of forming each piece. Such irregularities and imperfections appear all the more significant when one compares one object to the next; hence, the repetitive nature and serial form of my work. After having made these pieces, I find myself concerned with how age and time transform each work by their cumulative effect on the materials involved. Metal rusts, wood decays, paper becomes brittle, etc. Everything in this world breaks down and decays over time. We are all transformed with the passage of time. Although the pieces exude a Zen-like feeling partly due to their minimalism, spareness, and use of natural materials, most of the titles have a basis in Jewish history and religion, which formed an important part of my educational background. Aside from fabricating my works in a series, I have also given my pieces titles that come from names in a series, whether they be the kings of Israel and Judah, the Judges, the high priests during the Second Temple period, the orders of the Mishnah, or the place names in Babylonia and Palestine, where the Talmud was compiled. Above such concerns, however, I hope these works suggest a spirituality – a mysterious depth which we try to approach but cannot really know.