Brin Levinson “Night Phase”
June 30th – August 4th, 2019
Opening Reception with the artist: Saturday, June 30th, 2018, 6-8pm
Northport, NY– Haven Gallery is pleased to present “Night Phase”, a solo exhibition of new paintings from Oregon based artist Brin Levinson. This will be Levinsons first solo show at the gallery and will feature a collection of ten new oil paintings. Known for his beautifully rendered artworks imbued with environmental presage and an emphasis on the animal kingdom, Levinson juxtaposes wildlife amidst urban decay. Ruins and echoes of humanity ring through abandoned alleyways and cityscapes as the persistence of life and a favorable destiny ring through the remnants of a past world. “Night Phase” also encapsulates an evolution of the artists visual journey as he depicts his sitters close up through direct portraits of their animal magnificence. The auras or souls of Levinson’s portrayed sitters gallantly burst through his paintings via the artists strong chromatic approach through color and light further enhanced by dark backgrounds. The beauty and majesty of each one of these beings shines and echoes both their uniqueness and perseverance towards a confident future.
“At the heart of it, my imagery tells a story of nature reclaiming the world that humans have created…There is a common thread in this series of light coming out of darkness. I always attempt to balance my imagery with a hopeful and inspiring tone. The light and dark contrast represents a deeper version of that…Not only do they represent the victory of nature but also the miraculousness of life.” – Brin Levinson
ABOUT BRIN LEVINSON
Cityscapes where nature has begun to reclaim dominance is a recurring theme in Brin Levinson’s collection of paintings. Influenced by the streets of his home town in Portland, Oregon, the artist paints familiar landmarks into his work as the old buildings and water towers are manifested into a source of nostalgic inspiration. Moody atmospheric lighting completes his surreal portraits, forcing one to face a crumbling societal infrastructure in a speculative future.
Having started his creative ventures by painting urban landscapes, Levinson found his imagery to be lacking an element of life and began to add wild animals into the composites. This approach evolved organically over time, as he began to focus his artwork on the perseverance of nature, something he see as an optimistic outcome in the eventuality of this future dystopia he’s imagined. Levinson’s vivid reflections on the fragility of both the environment and our society pushes the surreal scenarios into one’s immediate reality.
