Richard Levine

Born: Essex
Lives and works: Hove, East Sussex
Education: Chelsea College of Arts
Exhibitions: IN:SIGHT (2018), Affordable Art Fair
“My work is experimental and playful and is not constrained by a single discipline. This creates a feeling of kinetic energy, depth and movement.”

An interest in vintage animation, comics and illustration led Richard to a career in motion graphics. This energy is now captured in his art, which explores the geometric structure of iconic imagery.

Inspiration

Embracing a spectrum of inspirations – from typographer Jan Tschichold to op art founder Victor Vasarely – Richard’s work hovers between representation and abstraction. Viewers may recognise the controversial bull dog, but they will never have seen it in this form.

By playing with geometric shapes and blocks of colour, the East Sussex-based artist exposes the details of the pattern while allowing his audience to appreciate the overall form. This is created by rendering an image into a 3D form and wrapping it with a texture or pattern before running it through several transitions.

Richard says: “My work is experimental and playful and is not constrained by a single discipline. This creates a feeling of kinetic energy, depth and movement.”

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Inside the world of Richard Levine

We caught up with Richard when he dropped by Castle Fine Art HQ to sign some of his debut artworks. He let us in on a couple of insider tips and inspirations, including - rather unexpectedly - Mickey Mouse. 

As a graphic designer, the artist has experience in animation, 3D drawings, television graphics and illustration. During his time studying at the Chelsea College of Arts, he actually veered away from print design and chose to base his final-year project on a clay sculpture. His work today, he says, is “in between film animation, sculpture and graphics – it’s something you can’t quite put a label on”.  

Describing his work as a mixture of pop art and Op art, Richard is particularly intrigued by the potential of an image to transform through flat colour and geometric shapes. The polygonal mesh he creates forms a 3D representation from a 2D shape – creating something entirely new. His interest in cartoons was sparked during his time as a student in Hampstead Heath. A local shop displayed the infamous ‘Mickey Mouse’ print created by Andy Warhol in 1981, and he became fascinated with the power of imagery and patterns.  

He adds: “I love looking at patterns – whether it’s in wallpapers, or a wacky interior design. I find it mesmeric, and enjoy the ordered, graphic elements. I especially like the work of Andy Warhol, who repeated patterns within his work. Stripes give a piece energy, as the viewer’s eyes follow them across the image.”

From the blog

Patterns and pooches with Richard Levine

Whether you’re team cat or team dog, you’ll find it impossible to resist the stunning debut release from Op artist Richard Levine.

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