Marilyn Levine

Boots With Steel Toes, 1971

H.A.B. Suitcase, 1972

Hayes Cowboy Boots, 1973

Button Cup, 1974

Faye's Black Satchel, 1974

Trent's Jacket, 1976

Early Cups, 1978-79

Sandi's Mailbag, 1980

Spot's Suitcase, 1981

Peggy's Jacket, 1991

Zipup, 1994

Recent Cups, 1994-95

 "In their native material, these satchels and shoulder bags would be too ordinary to merit special interest. Rendered in clay, they become objects of fascination, meticulous and loving portraits of the everyday." This was said by the reviewer Leah Ollman at a Marilyn Levine survey show in 2004 at the Frank Lloyd Gallery in Santa Monica; quoted from this article in the LA Times:

http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/11/local/me-levine11.

This is what I love about Levine's work. An ordinary leather jacket is nothing but an ordinary leather jacket. But the appearance of a leather jacket that is actually fashioned entirely out of clay is remarkable. Levine is a master of hyper-realistic rendering of leather with clay, working in the tromp-l'oeil tradition, and I appreciate her work very much. To me it represents humanity and the work and wear of life that shows up on the faithful items that aid us on our journeys, and that gives me an odd sense of comfort and familiarity.

Levine started out as a chemist in Canada, however, she took up the hobby of pottery and ended up getting her Masters of Fine Arts from UC Berkeley in 1971. It was when she was a grad student in CA that she developed this style of sculpting, and she faithfully stuck to it the remainder of her career. Another reviewer (for the Record of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario - also found in the latimes.com article) said that even though one may think this might show a lack of development in an artist, in Levine's case it rather "confirms the unwavering power of her vision." Levine's work is represented in private and public collections throughout the world - including LACMA and SF MoMA. I would love to see some of her work in person.


Image Source: www.marilynlevine.com

Info Sources: http://www.ceramicstoday.com/potw/levine.htm;

http://www.franklloyd.com/dynamic/artist_bio.asp?ArtistID=38;

http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/11/local/me-levine11; 

http://www.marilynlevine.com/bioframeset.html