Matvey Levenstein: Zone
September 4 – 28, 2024 514 West 28th Street, New York

  • Kasmin is delighted to present Zone, a solo exhibition of new intimately-scaled paintings by Matvey Levenstein (b. 1960, U.S.S.R.). This exhibition will be Levenstein’s first at Kasmin since receiving a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Grant in 2023.

    Using his intuitive familiarity with his chosen subject matter, Levenstein’s new works present fictionalized impressions of his environment, both interiors and landscapes. A rising sun pierces through a foggy sky overlooking a quiet inlet. A candlestick sits softly at the center of a reflective tabletop as a lone figure turns away from the viewer. Rendered in oil on copper or wood, Levenstein continues to explore the expressive capacity of a restrictive palette at a constrained scale.

  • Matvey Levenstein Roadside Picnic, 2024 oil on copper 9 x 12 inches 22.9 x 30.5 cm
    Matvey Levenstein
    Roadside Picnic, 2024
    oil on copper
    9 x 12 inches
    22.9 x 30.5 cm
    Inquire
  • Matvey Levenstein Zone, 2024 oil on copper 12 x 12 inches 30.5 x 30.5 cm
    Matvey Levenstein
    Zone, 2024
    oil on copper
    12 x 12 inches
    30.5 x 30.5 cm
    Inquire
  • Matvey Levenstein Sunset, 2024 oil on wood 10 x 8 inches 25.4 x 20.3 cm
    Matvey Levenstein
    Sunset, 2024
    oil on wood
    10 x 8 inches
    25.4 x 20.3 cm
    Inquire
  • Working in layers on toned grounds, Levenstein achieves a cinematic sensibility. The title of the show is a nod to Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 film Stalker and the Strugatsky brothers' 1972 science fiction novel Roadside Picnic, on which the film is based. There, the Zone refers to a place where things seem normal at first glance, but the closer you get, the stranger they become—much like the shifting dynamic from familiar to unfamiliar in the works on view. Rich with exquisite detail, Levenstein’s paintings encourage close looking to unearth their poetic investigations of place.
  • Matvey Levenstein After the Rain, 2024 oil on wood 9 1/2 x 7 1/4 inches 24.1 x 18.4 cm
    Matvey Levenstein
    After the Rain, 2024
    oil on wood
    9 1/2 x 7 1/4 inches
    24.1 x 18.4 cm
    Inquire
  • Matvey Levenstein Woman in an Interior, 2024 oil on copper 12 x 12 inches 30.5 x 30.5 cm
    Matvey Levenstein
    Woman in an Interior, 2024
    oil on copper
    12 x 12 inches
    30.5 x 30.5 cm
    Inquire
  • Matvey Levenstein Home, 2024 oil on copper 12 x 16 inches 30.5 x 40.6 cm
    Matvey Levenstein
    Home, 2024
    oil on copper
    12 x 16 inches
    30.5 x 40.6 cm
    Inquire
  • Matvey Levenstein Fog, 2024 oil on wood 9 1/2 x 7 1/4 inches 24.1 x 18.4 cm
    Matvey Levenstein
    Fog, 2024
    oil on wood
    9 1/2 x 7 1/4 inches
    24.1 x 18.4 cm
    Inquire

  • About the Artist

    Levenstein was born in 1960 in Moscow, U.S.S.R. and lives and works in New York City. He received his M.F.A....
    Photo by Diego Flores
    Levenstein was born in 1960 in Moscow, U.S.S.R. and lives and works in New York City. He received his M.F.A. at Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT, after attaining a B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, and the Moscow Architectural Institute, Moscow, U.S.S.R. He is included in the publications Landscape Painting Now by Todd Bradway and (Nothing but) Flowers published by Karma with essays by Hilton Als, Helen Molesworth and David Rimanelli. In 2023, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation named Levenstein a recipient of its prestigious 2022 Biennial Grant. Established in 1918, the Foundation inaugurated its biennial competition in 1980 and remains one of the largest single sources of grants for artists working in the United States today.

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