Chris
Levine

Born in 1960 in Ontario, Canada, Chris Levine now lives and works in Northamptonshire. He studied at Chelsea School of Art and later at Central St. Martins where he was awarded an MA in Computer graphics.

Levine remembers a childhood fascination with holographs as a key informer for his future career. Influenced by his father who was an engineer, and his mother who painted, the artist has described himself as a child who was interested in science and always drawing. He has said he always knew he would create for a living, whether as a designer, musician or artist.

After graduating Levine started creating holograms commercially. The work he was doing was largely commission based and at this point he realised he wanted to create his own work; he wanted to make art.

Levine describes the turn of the millennium as ‘a difficult time’ in his life, and at around this point he discovered meditation. The artist spent ten days at a retreat in Kathmandu which he highlights as a turning point both in his life and in his work: 'Increasingly my work and direction has been informed directly out of meditation. Stillness is a portal to the divine, and by taking my subjects towards stillness, it allows for a more soulful connection with the subject, and that light radiates in the work.'

Much of Levine’s very early work could be described as sculptural, often taking the form of immersive light installations. On the surface these might seem quite different to the photographic work that he has latterly become well known for, but throughout the artists’ oeuvre this sense of creating and depicting a meditative calm is constant.

Levine's success can be measured in a number of ways. Whether through the high profile collaborations and commissions he has worked on, the monetary value achieved by his artworks at sale, or through the global reach his artworks and shows can boast, it is safe to say that his career has been successful.

Levine has worked with subjects including Grace Jones, the Dali Lama, Queen Elizabeth II and Kate Moss. His works continue to fetch high values at auction, with original artworks selling for six figure sums. He has exhibited globally at London’s National Portrait Gallery and Science Museum, has staged light performances and exhibitions in spaces such as Radio City in New York commissioned by MoMA, The Eden Project, The Royal Opera House, MATE museum in Lima, and at MOFO festival for Tasmania’s MONA museum.

Levine’s 2004 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II is undoubtedly his best known work. Depicting The Queen with her eyes closed, the artist captures a moment of meditative calm in this portrait. Titled Lightness of Being, the artwork shows  one of the best known faces in the world in a previously unseen way: The National Gallery described the artwork as the most evocative image of a royal by any artist.

The image was a by-product of a commission to commemorate the Isle of Jersey’s 800th year of allegiance to the crown. The original commission was a three dimensional holographic portrait of The Queen titled Equanimity, this portrait required The Queen  to sit still for eight seconds at a time, while a moving camera captured 200 images per second as it moved around it’s subject. During takes Levine encouraged the Queen to rest and it was during this time that the image for Lightness of Being was captured.

Levine is often described as a photographer, perhaps because some of his better known work is photography based. In truth Levine works across a range of mediums, from sculpture, to hologram, lazer and photography. His work also exists outside the realm of fine art, existing in the more commercial worlds of fashion, music and design.

Levine maintains that his multidisciplinary practice should not be defined by medium or category, but by light. Light is the common factor which appears throughout his body of work  is central to his creation.

Levine has described in interviews how many of the key components or themes of his work have been directly influenced by his life experience. His interest in technology and use of light stemmed from the influence of his engineer father, and a childhood fascination with lasers, sparked at the Science Museum in London.

His MA in computer graphics saw Levine embark on a commercial, commission based career initially, before he understood that he wanted to create art. Despite this later change of heart Levine continues to work collaboratively with other artists, designers, musicians and performers, also adapting his work for advertising and events. For this reason his way of working is often compared to his Pop Art predecessors Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons who also embraced commercialising art through their work.

Chris Levine's original works have been known to fetch up to six figures at auction, while prints can be bought on the secondary market at more affordable prices.

Many of Levine’s available prints and editions are adaptations of original works, namely variations of his portraits of The Queen, Kate Moss and Banksy. Levine has also released series of more abstract works, often using symbols and just a couple of colours.