Evolution
1990–1993 Allegorical Figurative Paintings | previous • next
Within a year of graduating it all came pouring out of me. These were the paintings I wanted to do in school. I had recently found a box of old black and white family photos, and using them as the source, I painted stories about my family and the many things I was never told. This was my way to understand and to know. I began to fall deeper and deeper into metaphor, allegory, symbolism... I live for this stuff.
Short of being able to paint like Caravaggio, I turned to a more recent master; Diego Rivera. It didn’t hurt that I was surrounded by WPA and Rivera murals at SFAI and Coit Tower and other such places around San Francisco.
Above Left: A Roof Angel in Heavy Shoes, © Alexandria Levin, 1990 – oil on canvas, 42x30" (private collection)
Above Center: The Short Story of His Life, © Alexandria Levin, 1990 – oil on canvas, 31x35" (collection of artist)
Above Right: During the Week of the Eclipse, © Alexandria Levin, 1991 – oil on canvas, 16x18"
Above Left: Frida and Riwka, © Alexandria Levin, 1992 – oil on canvas, 31x44" (Capitol Art Collection, Santa Fe, NM)
Above Center: The Legacy of the Second Generation, © Alexandria Levin, 1992 – oil on canvas, 24x30" (collection of artist)
Above Right: Untitled Portrait, © Alexandria Levin, 1993 – oil on canvas, 20x15" (private collection)
