I’m taking an interview with the Israeli artist Alex Levin.
“Alex, what age did you start drawing and please tell me
when did you come to Israel and how did you start your life in Israel?”
- I started painting very early when I was 6 years old when
I took paper and pencils and I realized that I cannot live without it. So many
years have passed and I continue and continue to paint.
In Kiev, I graduated from an Art school and when I was
ninetieth year old, my family and I immigrated to Israel. Israel is an amazing
country and fall in love with it at first sight. When I saw this light, this
sun, the ocean of people smiles, new smells, I realized that I got home.
“Alex, the Judaica Paintings
goes through all your work. Could you tell why this theme is so important in
your paintings?”
- They say that my ancestors Levites sang in the Jerusalem Temple
two thousand years ago and probably there is something in the genes. Judaism
theme is very important to me. This is one of the main topics that I devote all
my time. In order to better study the topic of Judaism and in order for the
paintings to become more believable, I spent a lot of time in the Jewish areas
of Jerusalem, communicated with religious people and tried to live the life
that today's Jews live in the areas of Jerusalem. I try to imagine how Jews
lived in small towns 100 years ago somewhere in Ukraine, Belarus and Poland,
and I try to open the curtain and door and imagine how they kept shabbat, how
their kids when to schools, how they went to the synagogue and how they prayed.
Most of the Jews lived in small towns (Shtetls).
This beautiful world unfortunately disappeared after the WWII
and most of those people vanished in concentration camps. In order to better
understand what the towns looked like in Europe, I went to Poland to see how Jews
lived before, what they saw and how they prayed. Unfortunately, after visiting
Poland, there was a very sad impression, since there were practically no Jews
there, and only from the stories of local residents it was possible to find out
what happened to them in those terrible days of war and disaster.
“Alex, What do you paint with?”
- All my paintings are painted with oil on canvas, this is a
very difficult job where sometimes it takes a lot of time to get a good painting.
I have small miniature paintings and very large size works.
“Alex, but nevertheless the most unusual pictures are those
pictures where there is light. Divine light that comes from your paintings. Can
you tell us more?”
- You correctly noticed that light is one of the most
important things in my paintings because with light we can tell a lot in the
picture. With the help of light one can extract the most important thing in the
picture. For example, the portrait of an old Jew, the smile of children, the
light of the Torah. The work with light is important in my paintings, also in
Rembrandt’s paintings, which through light and darkness conveyed the essence of
a person’s character and his temple. I also try to follow these great artists
of the past.
“Alex are you a religious person or not?”
- I am not a religious person, but I follow traditions, I
observe holidays. Few times a year I go to the synagogue. I very often visit Jerusalem
and other places connected with Judaism.
“Tell us Alex, who are your customers who buy your
paintings?”
- My Judaica
paintings sold all over the world. Both Jews and non-Jews collecting my
paintings. All that unites these people is their love for Israel and Jerusalem,
their love for Jewish
traditions. My Jewish
paintings are often printed on calendars that distributed all over the
world as well as lithographs and reproductions. There are also many different
product with my artworks.
“Thank you very much Alex, I would like to ask what would be
your next series of paintings?”
- I’m currently working on a large series of abstract
paintings of Jerusalem called Colors
of Judaism, where I am trying with new techniques, new media, new colors to
convey the vibe that Jews feel in the synagogue and during prayer. This is a
large series of paintings that I dedicate all my time now.
