About the artist:

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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.