Andrew Levitas Metalwork Playground
Friday, 04/10/2015 – 06:00 pm – 09:00 pm
Maria Alecia Izturriaga
175 NW 25th Street,
Miami,, Florida 33127
Webpage Link
Cost: Free

Blueshift Wynwood is pleased to announce Andrew Levitas: Metalwork Playground, the artist’s first solo exhibition in Miami. Levitas, known for his meticulously handcrafted photo-sculptures developed through his patented/trademarked process Metalwork Photography®, has produced a new body of work consisting of recreational playground equipment.
Driven by the desire to express his inner vision in a highly personalized medium, Levitas encourages dialogue on the most pressing concerns of our times: dramatic shifts in America’s political and economic strength, technology and our quest for simplicity, and the rapid depletion of wilderness. Levitas creates an inviting experience through the lens of easily recognized forms (seesaws, swing sets, and merry-go-rounds) and the most cherished and happiest of experiences – childhood playtime that can also translate to adult environments. To further complicate this discussion, the sculptures are crafted following the strictest of design principles in gleaming polished chrome. Their sleekness hints at our need for perfection, immediacy, and our impatience in finding lasting resolutions.
Levitas, who is also a filmmaker and writer, began his fine art practice as a painter and photographer. Finding the medium of photography personally limiting, he developed Metalwork Photography®, a process involving the transfer of photographs onto custom transparencies that are in turn melted onto hand etched metal sheets creating a highly reflective surface. Levitas’s installations take this technique one-step further and are comprised of multi- paneled interlocking metal sheets. Built to scale, the playground equipment sculptures, just like his photographs, can be displayed indoors or outdoors and are completely functional art objects.
Born in New York City, Levitas received his BA from NYU where he currently teaches courses on the creative process. In 2008, the artist was accepted to the prestigious Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, which concluded with an exhibition at the Louvre. In addition to a growing list of American and international exhibitions, his work has garnered attention through top auction houses, museums, and art fairs. Recent highlights include the first ever solo exhibition at Phillips Berkeley Square, London. Levitas also recently wrote and directed the feature film Lullaby staring Garrett Hedlund, Academy Award Nominees Amy Adams, Richard Jenkins, Terrence Howard, Anne Archer, and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson. Levitas maintains studios in London, New York and Los Angeles and continues to expand on ideas of engagement and creative expression.