Five on the First
October 2024
Michael Gac Levin
“Michael Gac Levin’s paintings evoke the mystery and the intensity of childhood. At the core of his work is a playful, diaristic drawing practice guided by repetition and humor. Riding a wobbly line down into memory, he finds images that speak to our predicaments in the present and the uncertainty of the future. His reflective, dreamlike compositions offer views of a world in which everything is animate and purposeful. A world where anything might suddenly rise to speak, stalk or slink. A sense of archaic monumentality pervades the images, but objects feel as soft and yielding as a pillow fort or a loaf of bread. A father of two young children, Gac Levin understands his work as a way to reimagine structures of masculinity, authority, and patrimony. His paintings take us wandering among the grateful ruins of a haunting past, dreaming of what we will leave behind ourselves.”
Come, Come, Eat, Eat, Acrylic and polymer clay on panel, 12 x 16 inches (2024)
Duck Hunters, Acrylic on panel, 12 x 16 inches (2024)
Autumn Sorcery, Acrylic and pumice on panel, 9 x 12 inches (2024)
Secret Smush, Acrylic on panel, 9 x 12 inches (2024)
Cavers, Acrylic and macaroni on panel, 9 x 12 inches (2024)