Jonathan LeVine

Jonathan LeVine (born 1968) is a New York City art dealer. As of 2008, he owns and operates the Jonathan LeVine Gallery, in the Chelsea area of Manhattan. [ [http://www.jonathanlevinegallery.com Jonathan LeVine Gallery] ] LeVine has been instrumental in the promotion and proliferation of lowbrow art on the east coast.

Biography

Early years

As a youth in Trenton, New Jersey LeVine recognized the potential commercial appeal of countercultural aesthetics including punk flyers, comics, graffiti and tattoos. Beginning in 1995, while attending Montclair State University, LeVine worked as an independent curator, exhibiting this type of art at punk rock venues CBGB, Webster Hall, and Max Fish. The artists featured in these early exhibitions include well-known figures such as Ron English, Daniel Johnston, and Shepard Fairey. By the late 1990s the magazine, "Juxtapoz", was exposing this pop-sensible style to a national audience.

Tin Man Alley

In February 2001, LeVine opened his own gallery, Tin Man Alley in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Tin Man Alley initially sold vintage toys and novelty items to help support the gallery, but soon the business was fully supported by art sales. "Juxtapoz" and the proliferation of images on the internet brought enough attention to LeVine's New Hope exhibitions to allow for the gallery's relocation to Philadelphia in late 2002. The artists featured in shows such as "The New Surrealists" and "The Uncertainty Principle" include Mark Ryden, Shag (Josh Agle), Jeff Soto, and Gary Baseman.

Jonathan LeVine Gallery

In January 2005, LeVine moved his gallery to Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. His opening show, "Pop Pluralism", included works by Ray Caesar, the Clayton Brothers, and Camille Rose Garcia.

In 2007, LeVine promoted graffiti art as fine art, holding a major group show in conjunction with São Paulo's Choque Cultural gallery. Eight Brazilian street and graffiti artists traveled to New York – several for their first trip to the United States - for their exhibition called "Ruas De São Paulo." [ [http://whitehotmagazine.com/whitehot_articles.cfm?id=384 "Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art"] ] In December 2007, Jonathan had another international street art show called "The Streets of Europe" featuring artists from France, England, and Italy, including, BO130, Blek le Rat, D*Face, and Space Invader (Invader (artist)).

In June 2007, for Shepard Fairey’s solo exhibition "E Pluribus Venom", LeVine rented a temporary space in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn. The event was covered in the Arts section of "The New York Times". [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/arts/29bart.html "The New York Times"] ]

elected artists represented

* Esao Andrews
* Gary Baseman
* Tim Biskup
* Blek le Rat
* Ray Caesar
* David Choe
* Dave Cooper
* D*Face
* Lori Earley
* Shepard Fairey
* Camille Rose Garcia
* Doze Green (of Rock Steady Crew)
* Audrey Kawasaki
* Chris Mars
* Tara McPherson
* Todd Schorr
* Shag (Josh Agle)
* Jeff Soto
* Space Invader (Invader (artist))
* Gary Taxali
* Mark Dean Veca

References

* [http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/19196/jonathan-levine ArtInfo]
* [http://www.nylonmag.com/?section=article&parid=76 Nylon Magazine]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CEFDB1231F93AA35750C0A9619C8B63 "The New York Times"]
* [http://whitehotmagazine.com/whitehot_articles.cfm?id=384 "Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art"]