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.