The Azarian McCullough Art Gallery at St. Thomas Aquinas College is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Michael Siporin Levine titled The Animator. This body of work seeks to expand the field of printmaking by developing new combinations of shape, color and form as they connect abstract qualities to concrete objects and life experiences.
Michael Siporin Levine, The Animator, runs from September 20 through November 15, 2023. A reception with the artist is scheduled for Wednesday, September 20 from 4:00-5:30 PM.
Using a mixture of observation and process, Siporin Levine creates images with open-ended narratives, blending autobiography, abstraction, history and invention. Personal experiences and human relationships he encounters on a day-to-day basis provide the departure point for his work. By referencing recognizable and personal objects in a print or drawing— a mirror in the bathroom, a pair of sunglasses purchased at a gas station, or a tennis racquet — the artist creates imagery recalling a specific event.
Siporin Levine wants the viewer to get lost in the image by questioning what they are looking at, and then use recognition of objects, shapes, space, and figures to interpret a possible narrative as they find connections to their own experiences. By using daily activities as a departure point for narrative, he finds metaphor, symbolism, and absurdity in the mundane, using reality to inform imagination.
Through technique and process, the artist allows an initial idea to change, abstract, and evolve. Although he uses drawing as the foundation of his studio practice, his interest in letting the process inform the decision-making has led him to use various printmaking techniques, collage, as well as video, animation, and installation. Working with and against a technique encourages his experimentation with the medium, allowing a greater opportunity for chance and discovery to play a role. Whether it is manipulating a digital video, charcoal drawing, or relief printmaking, Siporin Levine embraces the honesty, rawness, and personal quality of my hand in the art-making process.
Michael Siporin Levine lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, and holds an MFA from the University of Georgia (2014) and a BFA from the University of Connecticut (2011).
If you have any questions, please contact Timothy Hull of the Azarian McCullough Art Gallery: thull@stac.edu.