Dean Levin was born in 1988 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and now lives in
Los Angeles. He graduated with a BARCH from the Pratt Institute in 2012 and begun
work as an architect, now an influence incorporated in his art. His paintings are
distinctly minimalist in style: in their constructed simplicity they redefine and extend
the classical picture frame and challenge pre-conceived structures and frameworks.
His first solo show was held at Robert Blumenthal Gallery in London at an
exhibition titled Dean Levin 1X1 earlier this year. He has also exhibited at the
Retrospective Gallery in Hudson, New York in the Surface Support (It's All Black
and White) show in August 2014. His group exhibitions include a forthcoming show
at the Berthold Pott in Cologne, an exhibition in 2014 at the Fondazione in Turin,
exhibitions in New York at the Jeff Bailey Gallery and the Sean Kelly Gallery and in
Los Angeles at Roberts and Tilton.
Levin’s oeuvre is underpinned by the architectural requirements that deal with
the notions of space and form. His works are cropped, stretched and framed to test the
limits of dimensionality and push expression to its limits. Levin purposely designs his
floating steel frames to both support and encase the painting and to project it out of
the structure towards the viewer. His emphatic presentations render the paintings
almost structural in quality and draw associations between the technique used to
execute them and their subject matter and message themselves. The viewing process
is thus highly interactive and encourages the audience to participate in the work and
experience it on a higher, deeper level. Levin engages and captivates: successfully
amalgamating dimensionalities in his combination of construction and canvas.