Michael Levin

BEING THERE / THE OBSERVANT CAMERA

The landscape photographs by Michael Levin have honed a magical aura. A powerful silence resides in the images and can be felt in every little detail. The photographer achieves this impression primarily through long exposure times, making the still objects such as jetties, bridges, and pickets stand out among the constantly moving environment. The traces of civilization contrast with nature, which seems constantly to shift between aggregate states.

Everything that moves – be it clouds, water, sea birds or even a fisherman in Levin’s work Zebrato from the coast of Amalfi – is reduced to the form of the intersection. During the time of exposure we witness the overlap of the spatial and temporal expansion of bodies and natural phenomena. Levin is able to create an indivisible bond between space and time in his unique compositions. Sea birds (Seven Birds, 2007) become abstract forms on the horizon in his illustration of a very particular temporality and seem to take on lives of their own.

You cannot tire of looking at these fantastic-seeming worlds that give the impression of being suspended in elevated space, in which the laws of nature do not seem to apply. The completely individual radiance of his masterfully composed scenes of striking gray tones has standing in the critical collectors’ circles.

David Gärtner

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CBC Radio NXNW program, In-depth interview with Sheryl Mackay, Oct 2009
Photolife Magazine, Zebrato book review, Oct-Nov 2009
Dave Brindle Talk 1410 Radio Show, Interview, Oct 2009
PDN Photo Annual, Zebrato book award, June 2009
Silvershotz Magazine, 12 pages of Interviews and images, April 2009
Dave Brindle Talk 1410 Radio Show, Interview, August 2009
IMAGE Magazine, cover image, UK, (March/April) 2009
Shots magazine, Issue 46, USA,  2009
AG Magazine, Zebrato book review, UK, May 2009
Red Dog Journal, Zebrato book review,  March 2009
B&W magazine, U.S.A., Portfolio Spotlight, Dec 2009
Publishers Weekly, U.K., Zebrato book review, July 2009
CBC Radio Interview, December, 2008
Die Mainzer Allgemeine Zeitung, Mainz, Germany, review of new work Sept 2008
Applied Arts Photography Annual, award winning “portfolio” selected, 2008
Black & White Photography, December, 2008, Cover image and 9 page article
The World’s Greatest Black & White Photography Volume I, 2008
Mainzer Kultur, Critical Review, 2007
Photographer’s Companion Magazine, USA, 2007
Photographer’s Companion Magazine, China 2007
Applied Arts Photography Annual, award winning “portfolio” selected, 2007
The World’s Greatest B&W Photographs Book, 3 images chosen, 2007
Photo Selection Magazine (April/May) Cover and interview with images, 2007
Showcase TV’s “The L Word”, 2007 season
Cityline Television show, Monday March 20, 2006, Toronto, ON
Focus Fine Art Magazine – August, 2006
Collections Magazine, Toronto, Ontario - Fall 2005 issue
Subterrain Magazine, Portfolio & essay – September 2005 issue
Gordon J.Scillingford Publications- cover photo - summer catalog, 2005
MBWA- annual catalog - cover, 2005
Aesthetica Magazine- March 2005 issue, photograph, Floating
Vancouver Sun, photograph and review, 2005
PhotoEd photography, essay and selected images, 2005
B&W Photography Magazine, award-winning image, 2005
Collections Magazine, interview and selected images, 2005
Lucie Awards Book, 6 award winning images published, 2005
Esthetica magazine, UK, 2004
Schillingford Publications, annual catalogue, cover and back image, 2004
Manitoba Book Publishers, annual catalogue, cover and back image, 2004

Solo Exhibitions

2010	New Photographs from Japan, Thornwood Gallery, Houston, USA
	New Photographic Works, Weiss Gallery, Calgary, Canada
2009	Elemental, Weiss Gallery, Calgary, Canada
	Evidence, Elliot Louis Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
	Evidence, Thornwood Gallery, Dallas, USA
2008	New Works, Watermark Fine Arts, Houston, USA
	Untitled, Photographers’ Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
	Untitled, Galerie Art Mayence, Mainz, Germany
	Elemental, New Work, Lando Gallery, Edmonton, Canada
2007	Luminance, Snap Contemporary Art, Vancouver, Canada
	Bewegung und Stille, Galerie Art Mayence, Mainz, Germany
	Taizen, photographs from Japan Wallspace Gallery, Seattle, USA
2006	REVEAL, Watermarks Fine Arts, Houston, USA
	Of Movement and Stillness, Snap Contemporary Art, Vancouver, Canada
	Reveal, LACDA, Los Angeles, USA
	Frozen in Time, Lando Gallery, Edmonton, Canada
	The Shape of Light, Photographers Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
	Reveal, Snap Contemporary Art, Vancouver, Canada
	Two person show, Art Mayence, Mainz, Germany
2005	Gallery Jones, Vancouver, Canada
	The shape of Light, Snap Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2004	No.4 Gallery San Diego, California, USA

Group Exhibitions

2009	Summer Show, Jacana Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
	Spring Show, Marcia Rafelman Fine Arts, Toronto, Canada
2008	Traverse, Marcia Rafelman Fine Arts, Toronto, Canada
	New Works, Photographers’ Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
	Emerging Artist Show, Seattle Art Museum Gallery, Seattle, USA
	Versus, Snap Contemporary Art, Vancouver, Canada
	Toronto International Art Fair, Marca Rafelman Fine Arts, Toronto, Canada
	Deck the Walls, Alma Gallery, Guelph, Canada
2007	Here & Now, Marcia Rafelman Fine Arts, Toronto, Canada
	PX3 Awards show, Gallery 13Sévigné, Paris, France
	Photographers’ Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
	Best of IPA’s, Farmani Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
	Toronto International Art Fair, Marcia Rafelman Fine Arts, Toronto, Canada
2006	Perception, Marcia Rafelman Fine Arts, Toronto, Canada
	Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, Canada
	Angkor Photography Festival, Siem Reap, Cambodia
	Coningsby Gallery, London, UK
	Photographers Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
	Best of IPA’s show, Splashlight Studio, New York City, USA
	Lando Gallery, Edmonton, Canada
	Feature wall at the Photo San Francisco Exhibition
	Snap Contemporary Art, Vancouver, Canada
2005	Galerie Art Mayence, Mainz, Germany
	Viewpoint, Marcia Rafelman Fine Arts, Toronto, Canada
	Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, Canada
	Artsweek, Marcia Rafelman Fine Arts, Toronto, Canada
2004	Gallery Jones, Vancouver, Canada
	Snap Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
	No.4 Gallery, San Diego, USA
	Contact 2004, Move Up, Toronto, Canada