Robert Levin

Robert  Levin

I was originally attracted to hot glass because of its liquid qualities and sense of immediacy.  I have always tried to capture an element of the elegance, fluidity, and whimsy which I feel are inherent properties of glass.  I have often formulated my own glass, including the colors I use, and have generally used opaque glasses or frosted surfaces, which tend to emphasize the overall form of each piece.  I find that various aspects of my work take on much more personal connotations for me, although rarely in any explicit ways.  This usually happens without my conscious knowledge: I may be looking at a completed piece and see something new in it — something about myself or my work.  This dialog with the work has become very important to me.  I view many of the pieces I’ve done as extensions of this dialog, and as an analogy for my attempt to integrate the various facets of my life — the fusing of various parts, somewhat off-balance, but hopefully integrated into some sort of harmony.  The glass itself can be a symbol of human characteristics: fragile, but durable; fluid, but hard-edged.  This all has something to do with the possibilities for change and transformation, both with the material and with the person doing the creating.  I think of my work as an act of communication, not only with myself, but with the viewer as well.  Perhaps what is communicated is more of an attitude than a specific idea.  My work, whether more “sculptural” or “functional” in intent, has maintained a certain continuity in terms of style.  The approaches I use are eclectic and personal at the same time — sort of a blend of Late Venetian and Early Neurotic.

Bio

Rob Levin was born and raised in Baltimore and currently lives and works near Burnsville, NC.  He was formerly the Resident Glass Artist at Penland School of Crafts, and has taught in many exotic places such as Ireland, New Zealand, Rochester, Cleveland and Penland.  He has exhibited widely in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Russia.  His work is in numerous public and private collections, including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Museum of American Glass, the Contemporary Glass Museum in Madrid, the Mint Museum, the High Museum in Atlanta, the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC, and the Ebeltoft Glasmuseum in Denmark.  He has received a Southern Arts Federation/NEA Visual Arts Fellowship, two North Carolina Arts Council Fellowships, and a NCAC Project Grant.  His work has been featured in magazines such as American Craft, New Zealand Crafts, Craft Arts International, New Glass Review, as well as in books such as An Introduction to Visual Literacy, Contemporary American Craft Art, Contemporary Glass, and Masterpieces of American Glass. He is included in Who’s Who in American Art, The Dictionary of International Biography, and Who’s Who in America.   He describes his work as “sort of a blend of Late Venetian and Early Neurotic.”

 
If you are interested in learning more or purchasing a piece of Robert Levin’s artwork, please contact Sara McDonnell at Art Makers, artmakers.com/contact.