Les Levine is a conceptual artist and one of the originators of media art. He was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1935. Early on, he recognized the potential of television as an art medium and a means of mass dissemination. He was one of the first artists to use videotape. Levine regards himself as a “media sculptor” and has used outdoor advertising, posters, television, radio, and telephone conversations in his work. He studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London and exhibited and lived in Canada during the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1973 he was an artist-in-residence at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. He has been based in New York City since 1964.
At the beginning of his career, Levine introduced the idea of disposable art, earning the name “Plastic man”. In 1966 he exhibited thousands of vacuum-formed plastic reliefs in various colours, selling them for between $3 and $6 each. This was considered a populist response to art world conceptions of art as unique and precious objects. Wiretap, 1970, in the National Gallery of Canada collection, consists of 12 speakers on the wall, each playing a loop of 12 hours of recorded telephone conversations that Levine made on his home phone. The audience listens to the taped document of actual inquiries and conversations about the production of artwork over a period of one year. For its time, Wiretap was radical in proposing that the activity surrounding the process of making a work of art is as valid and interesting as the end product.
Like others of his generation, Levine addresses in his artwork issues of value and consumption in North American society. In the early 1980s, his first billboard campaigns in Los Angeles and Minneapolis followed on the heels of a successful mass media project that featured 4000 images along the NYC subway system.
Levine has made over 200 videos and has had over 100 solo exhibitions.
Year | Name of the exhibition | Museum/Gallery | Solo/Group |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Mindful Media | rish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland | solo |
2005 | The Sixties in Canada | National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa | group |
2004 | Last Stop America | Duisburger Akzente, Duisburg, Germany | group |
2003 | The Self Express | Brigitte March Galerie, Stuttgart, Germany | solo |
2001 | Markers, God Bless America | Venice Biennale | group |
2000 | Let s Have a Show of Hands | Brigitte March Galerie, Stuttgart, Germany | solo |
2000 | Have No Fear | Asbaek Galerie, Copenhagen, Denmark | solo |
2000 | Herausforderung Tier, Death Ends All Punishment | Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany | group |
2000 | Construction in Process VII - This Earth is a Flower, media campaign: Mind Weed | The International Artists Museum, Bydgoszez, Poland | group |
2000 | Critic as Grist exhibited Group Shows Twist the Truth & Statements on the Sublime | White Box, NY, NY | group |
1999 | Show Us Our Mind | Velan, Carignano (Turin), Italy | solo |
1999 | Billboard: Art on the Road | MASS MoCA, North Adams, Massachusetts | group |
1999 | Making It New (The Big Sixties Show), performed Cornflakes | Gallery of Windsor, Canada | group |
1998 | The Inflatable Moment: Pneumatics and Protest in 68 | The Architectural League, The Urban Center, NY, NY | group |
1997 | Art Can See | Galerie der Stadt Stuttgart, Germany | solo |
1997 | Selections from the Video Collection, Brainwash | Museum of Modern Art, Video Gallery, NY, NY | group |
1997 | See Your Mind, video installation | 2nd Johannesburg Biennale, Johannesburg, S. Africa | group |
1996 | See Your Mind | Brigitte March Galerie,Stuttgart, Germany | solo |
1996 | Painting the Media Cave - Public Pets | Temporary Contemporary, Baltic Flour Mills, Gateshead, England | solo |
1996 | Media Mind - Les Levine: A Recent Survey | The Alternative Museum, NY, NY | solo |
1996 | Contemporary Art at the Museum Ludwig - Acquisition 1992-1996 | Museum Ludwig, Köln, Germany | group |
1995 | Gilbert & George, Space Walkm & Diamond Mind, videotapes | Saint-Gervais Geneve Dept des Art et Medias Electroniques, Geneve, Switzerland | solo |
1995 | Early Media Art and New Works | Brigitte March Galerie,Stuttgart, Germany | solo |
1995 | The Media Tent | Art Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany | solo |
1995 | Media Tent | Video-Forum, Art 26 95 Basel International Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland | solo |
1995 | Mind | Stadt Langenhagen, Hannover, Germany | solo |
1995 | Adding It Up, Print Acquisitions 1970-1995 | Museum of Modern Art, NYC | group |
1995 | Das Sisyphos-Syndrom, Hommage für Joseph Beuys | Kunstverein Schloss Plön, Germany | group |
1995 | Mask Change See Face, billboard campaign | Uludag Universitesi and the city of Bursa, Turkey | group |
1995 | Media Boards | Mai 36 Galerie, Zürich, Switzerland | group |
1994 | Media Magic | Lutz Teutloff Modern Art, Köln, Germany | solo |
1994 | Public Interventions | ICA, Boston, MA | group |
1994 | From Beyond the Pale | Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland | group |
1994 | Intelligent Ambience | Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA | group |
1994 | Monumental Propaganda | Smithsonian Institution, International Gallery, Washington, DC | group |
1993 | Sex Won t Save You, billboard campaign | Kansas City, MO | solo |
1993 | Les Levine | Mai 36 Galerie, Zürich, Switzerland | solo |
1993 | Lose Your Life | StadtRaum Remise, Vienna, Austria | solo |
1993 | The Media Cage | Galerie In Situ, Aalst, Belgium | solo |
1993 | Bright Light | International Contemporary Art, Schloss Presteneck, Stein am Kocher, Germany | group |
1993 | The Language of Art | Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria | group |
1993 | Gone Beyond Gone | Thread Waxing Space, NY, NY | group |
1993 | I Am You | MUHKA, Antwerp, Belgium | group |
1992 | Ease Pain, billboard campaign | Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, NYC | solo |
1992 | Public Mind: Les Levine s Media Sculpture and Mass Ad Campaigns 1969-1990 | MUHKA, Antwerpen, Belgium | solo |
1992 | Law Order, billboard campaign | Cincinnati, OH | solo |
1992 | Force Sight | International Contemporary Art, Schloss Presteneck, Stein am Kocher, Germany | group |
1992 | Notes from the Material World: Contemporary Photomontage | John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI | group |
1991 | Ease Pain, Work Change, billboard in the Marienplatz | Wassermann Galerie, Munich | solo |
1991 | Les Levine: Billboard Cartoons | Brigitte March Galerie, Stuttgart | solo |
1991 | Night Lines | Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Holland | group |
1990 | Les Levine | Galerie Montaigne, Paris | solo |
1990 | Les Levine | Mai 36 Galerie, Luzern | solo |
1990 | Analyze Lovers | Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Holland | solo |
1990 | Public Mind: Les Levine s Media Sculpture and Mass Ad Campaigns1969-1990 | Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY | solo |
1990 | Word as Image | Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI | group |
1990 | Art & Pub | Centre National d Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, Paris, France | group |
1990 | Process und Konstruktion | The Artists Muzeum, Lodz, Poland | group |
1989 | Les Levine s Video: A Selection from Two Decades | Int l Center of Photography, NY | solo |
1989 | Brand New, billboard campaign | Art Frankfurt, Kunstmesse Frankfurt, Germany | solo |
1989 | Les Levine | Galerie 1900-2000, La Galerie de Poche, Paris | solo |
1989 | Consume or Perish & Pray for More | NY Foundation for the Arts, NY Subways, NYC | solo |
1989 | Video-Skulptur | Kolnischer Kunstverein, Koln, Germany | group |
1989 | In Other Words | Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund, Germany | group |
1989 | Image World | Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC | group |
1988 | Media Projects and Public Advertisements | Mai 36 Galerie, Luzern, Switzerland | solo |
1988 | Consume or Perish, indoor-outdoor billboard project | Espace FRAC, Dijon, France | solo |
1988 | Committed to Print | Museum of Modern Art, NYC | group |
1988 | Computers and Art | IBM Gallery of Science and Art, NYC | group |
1988 | American Documentary Video: Subject to Change | Museum of Modern Art, NYC | group |
1987 | Sell Yourself, billboard Ave B and East 2 St | Zone, NYC | solo |
1987 | The Real Big Picture | The Queens Museum, Queens, NY | group |
1987 | Art in Bookform | Aalto Museum, Jyvaskyla, Finland | group |
1987 | Unknown | Documenta 8, Kassel, Germany | group |
1987 | Computers and Art | Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY | group |
1987 | This is not a Photograph | Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH | group |
1986 | Blame God | The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland | solo |
1986 | Friends, video installation | Academie der Kunst, Copenhagen | solo |
1985 | Media Mass (Local News) | Spectacolor Lightboard, One Times Square, NYC | solo |
1985 | Blame God, indoor-outdoor billboard project | ICA Gallery, London, England | solo |
1985 | A New Beginning 1968-1978 | The Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY | group |
1985 | Process und Konstruktion | Lenbachhaus, Munich | group |
1985 | Biennale des Friedens | Kunsthaus und Kunstverein, Hamburg | group |
1984 | New Media Projects: Billboards | LAICA, Los Angeles, CA | solo |
1984 | Drawings Models Polaroids | Ted Greenwald Gallery, NYC | solo |
1984 | Aerogramme - Mail Art Show | Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam | group |
1983 | Visions from the God World | Honolulu Academy of Art, Focus Gallery, Honolulu, HI | solo |
1983 | Video Viewpoints | Museum of Modern Art, NYC | solo |
1983 | Video Art: A History | Museum of Modern Art, NYC | group |
1982 | We are not Afraid | Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York Subways, NYC | solo |
1982 | New Narratives for Living Room Viewing | Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada | group |
1982 | OKanada | Akademie der Kunste, Berlin, Germany | group |
1981 | Country Billboards | Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, NYC | solo |
1981 | Instant Photography | Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam | group |
1980 | Ads | Marian Goodman Gallery, NYC | solo |
1980 | Unknown | Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy | group |
1979 | Deep Gossip | Myers Fine Arts Gallery, State University of NY, Plattsburgh, NY | solo |
1979 | Prayer Rug | Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA | solo |
1979 | Les Levine: Media Installation, Fotos, Videotapes | Galerie Jollenbeck, Koln, Germany | solo |
1979 | Diamond Mind and The House of Gloves | Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, NYC | solo |
1979 | Biennale van de Kritiek | Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, Antwerp, Belgium | group |
1978 | Northern Landscapes | The Station Gallery, Whitby, Canada | solo |
1978 | Making You in Our Image: Media Installations | Rotterdamse Kunststichting, Rotterdam, Holland | solo |
1978 | Les Levine: Diamond Mind | Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, Antwerp, Belgium | solo |
1977 | I am not Blind: An Information Environment about Unsighted People | Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, NY | solo |
1977 | Game Room: A Tribute to the Great American Loser | M. L. D Arc Gallery, NYC | solo |
1977 | Northern Landscapes | The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, Canada | solo |
1977 | Soho Poster Project | Galerie Arnesen, Copenhagen, Denmark | solo |
1977 | Unknown | Documenta 6, Kassel, Germany | group |
1976 | During the First Moment of Your Death: Remember | M. L. D Arc Gallery, NYC | solo |
1976 | I am not Blind | Wadsworth Atheneum, Lions Gallery of the Senses, Hartford, CT | solo |
1976 | Starry Night | National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia | solo |
1976 | 76 Biennale of Sydney | Gallery of New South Wales, Australia | group |
1975 | Les Levine s Magic Carpet | Adler Castillo, Caracas, Venezuela | solo |
1975 | One-Gun Video | Anthology Film Archives, NYC | solo |
1975 | The Story of Three Children | Miami-Dade University, Miami, FL | solo |
1975 | Unknown | Sao Paula Biennale, Sao Paulo, Brazil | group |
1974 | Language ÷ Emotion + Syntax = Message | The Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada | solo |
1974 | The Troubles: An Artist s Document of Ulster | University of California at San Diego, CA | solo |
1974 | Unknown | Projekt 74, Germany | group |
1973 | Les Levine | The Michael C. Rockefeller Art Center Gallery, Fredonia State University College, Fredonia, NY | solo |
1973 | Les Levine s Peggy s Cove | The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, Canada | solo |
1972 | The Last Sculpture Show | META-TV, Arlington, VA | solo |
1972 | The Troubles: An Artist s Document of Ulster | Finch College Museum of Art, NYC | solo |
1972 | Position | The Fischbach Gallery, downtown, NYC | solo |
1971 | House | Galerie M. E. Thelen, Koln, Germany | solo |
1970 | Body Control Systems | The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, Canada | solo |
1970 | Software Show | Jewish Museum, NYC | group |
1970 | Information Show | Museum of Modern Art, NYC | group |
1969 | Jack Burnham to Wed Judith Benjamin | Levine s Restaurant, NYC | solo |
1969 | Les Levine | Le Prix Levine a la Sixieme Biennale de Paris, Paris | solo |
1969 | Contact | Institute of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL | solo |
1969 | Electric Shock | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI | solo |
1969 | Process of Elimination | NYC Dept. of Parks, New York University s vacant lot on W. 4 St, NYC | solo |
1969 | Body Color | New York University, Loeb Student Center, NYC | solo |
1969 | Vision and Television | Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA | group |
1969 | Unknown | Sao Paulo Biennale, Sao Paulo, Brazil | group |
1969 | Unknown | Paris Biennale, represented Canada | group |
1969 | Sculpture Annual | Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC | group |
1968 | Process of Elimination | Glendon Campus Art Gallery, York University, Toronto, Canada | solo |
1968 | The Clean Machine | The Fischbach Gallery, NYC | solo |
1968 | New Acquisitions, Artists Under 40 | Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC | group |
1967 | Slipcover and Star Garden | Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN | solo |
1967 | Star Garden | Museum of Modern Art, NYC | solo |
1967 | Slipcover | Architectural League of New York, NYC | solo |
1967 | Schemata 7 | Finch College Museum of Art, NYC | group |
1966 | Les Levine | The Fischbach Gallery, NYC | solo |
1966 | Slipcover | Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada | solo |
1966 | Les Levine | University of Western Ontario, London, Canada | solo |
1966 | The Object Transformed | Museum of Modern Art, NYC | group |
1965 | Les Levine | The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto, Canada | solo |
1964 | Les Levine | Hart House, University of Toronto, Canada | solo |
1964 | Second Canadian Sculpture Exhibition | National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa | group |