Working on a new series.
16+ paintings of Brussels and it’s incredible parks.
I love this city.
Just finished uploading many of my paintings to the print place.
I hope you enjoy these!
I’ve made postcards, prints, even masks…
They are all based on the paintings from my collection Immensities that is coming to end of a sold out solo show in central Brussels, Belgium.
Last day of my solo show at Art Base gallery! I’ll be there between 2-6pm today. Address: Rue des Sables 29, Brussels 1000.
Here are some of the paintings profiled on the biggest weekend morning show in Greece (w English subtitles).
Hot off the press!
A Brussels-based article about my current art show… and finally a sneak peek to my next one!
Original article here:
Interview by the very charming Iva Galovic
Photos by Iris Haidău & Anja Strelec
IMMENSITIES is on until Oct 10th.
Art Base, 29 rue des Sables, 1000 Bruxelles
Article text here:
‘IMMENSITIES’ – a window to the world by Tamar Levi
- EDITORIAL TEAM
- OCTOBER 4, 2020
- 4 MINUTE READ
The ever-bustling art scene in Brussels is having a come-back after the pandemic and one of the exhibitions not to miss is most definitely ‘IMMENSITIES” by the artist Tamar Levi, up in Art Base (29 rue des Sables Zandstraat, 1000 Bruxelles) until the 10th of October. The collection of around twenty paintings on her travels from Greece to Belgium was painted during the lockdown in Belgium, with the goal to create a window to the world for the viewer and evoke the feeling of freedom. On the occasion of the exhibition and intrigued by Tamar’s life and work, we spoke with the artist who first described to us more how it came to exhibition itself.
‘Due to the pandemic, studio spaces were closed so I painted these twenty canvases during lockdown in my apartment with my family right on top of me. The close quarters inspired a response to the pandemic in my art: I made the landscapes more expansive, and more of an escape view, to create more windows in people’s homes. That’s why the collection is called IMMENSITIES, it’s the big idea of freedom through my painted landscapes, freedom for the viewer’s minds and souls to expand into wide open spaces.’
And indeed, when you look at the pieces in the exhibition, you have this feeling of expansion and freedom, achieved not only by the lines of the strokes but also the fact that the painting doesn’t end with a frame – it flows over it and includes it in itself, breaking all the boundaries and creating a unique sculptural depth for the viewer.
‘My original idea of painting on the frame aims to draw the viewer into the scene, in a sculptural way. This provides the art collector with immediacy for hanging. The bespoke frames provide deep dimensionality. This allows the viewer to step into a scene. Another window for their home.’
And to make this new window view as beautiful as possible, Tamar spent a lot of time carefully choosing the right frames for the paintings to have the perfect match.
‘To prepare for this collection I hunted for the biggest and most beautiful antique frames from markets and auction houses in Athens, Greece and Brussels, Belgium. Then I affixed and painted both canvases and frame simultaneously.’
Tamar is already known to the Brussels audience through her several solo exhibitions and illustrations of books for children, with this exhibition being special for her as it build ups on all the work so far. Having always done drawings in her sketchbook and later illustrations for children’s books, she was now able to go back to those sketchbooks and find the original ideas behind the shapes for this painting collection.
‘I have always done drawings I normally illustrate in pen and ink in a minimalist zen continuous line style, however this collection is unusual for me; it was created with a bespoke mix of bright colours. I think of it as being in the Fauvist tradition of colour practice. These were worked on for months in colour theory research and applied as mixed media with oil pastels to create a cohesion in the collection and a sense of many dimensions in the image. The oil pastel on top of acrylic creates a link between my illustration work and my painting work.’
Growing up in Alaska, Tamar never expected to be based at the heart of European politics. She fell in love with a Greek man, whose career brought them here and then she fell in love with the city as well, with Brussels parks being now one of her main motifs.
‘I just cannot stop painting these parks. Is it some kind of secret that Brussels has over seventy parks and they are gorgeous and characterful and joyous too?’
But Tamar’s fascination with Brussels doesn’t stop there. She sees Brussels as a buffet of nature and culture, exploring the city, museums and all aspects of art.
‘So far I have been exploring the comic book culture, which fits right in with my previous work and current graphic novel project. But I haven’t even started the adventure of discovering the dance culture, which I’m told is a very rich treasure here. I’m sure the talent on the dance scene will inspire some dance-related series of paintings…’
These are just some of the things that inspire this talented and energetic artist whose drive to create keeps moving her forward at all times, so we were very excited to hear about her upcoming projects and exhibitions.
‘My continuous line portraits of women, which were displayed with the European Parliament’s Feminist Forum, will be on exhibit again, this time at the upcoming TEDx conference here in Brussels. I’m really excited to share these portraits with a wider audience. Also, there’s this graphic novel I’ve been working on for 15 years now which I’m illustrating all in one line (but it has to be the right line!). Two years ago I performed the first chapter, all in one line, with live music to accompany the performance art, and so perhaps it’s time to work on the second chapter’s live performance?’
In the near future, Tamar will also start artistic workshops which we are sure will be a success. And if you would like to meet the artist, visit the gallery this Sunday, 4 October, between 2 and 6 pm and have a first-hand experience, enjoying the views Tamar created.
Interview by Iva Galovic. You can follow Iva on instagram for more interesting Brussels stories.
My art discussed on Mega Channel the biggest TV channel in Greece!
An art curator just informed me that all the paintings have nearly doubled in value due to the huge amount of public interest in my current show….
IMMENSITIES is on until Oct 10th. Art Base, 29 rue des Sables, 1000 Bruxelles
Photo sent from Crete by family favourite Giorgos Koukakis
I’ll be in the gallery ready & super happy to talk ART with you and your children 2-6pm this Saturday and Sunday!
Art Base, 29 rue des Sables Zandstraat, 1000 Bruxelles
Culture show type news clip for my exhibition #IMMENSITIES: paintings of my travels through Greece & Belgium
Today & the next two weekends 2 – 6pm
Art Base, 29 rue des Sables Zandstraat, 1000 Bruxelles
It was challenging for me to share this video because I’m very details oriented and I don’t think the lighting shared the true colours of the paintings.
Here are some of the lovely things people said about the art yesterday that warmed my heart, or made me smile and will keep me motivated to keep making art for you:
“YES! YES! YES! That is EXACTLY how that place FEELS!”
“I can feel the sun on the back of my neck when I look at this one.”
“Could I buy a print of this one that is already sold? Even though it’s not the original painting, the feeling I get is always authentic.”
“There’s something mystical in your use of light.”
“I feel like I could take many different walks in many different directions through these landscapes.”
“This view is where my partner proposed just a few weeks ago!”
“I like that you used unexpected colours.”
“Wonderful paintings – so vibrant, alive and full of feeling!”
“I didn’t expect to see Greece and Belgium with these colours.”
“Your prices are really accessible, thank you. I couldn’t afford original art otherwise.”
“There’s something in the atmosphere of light between the trees that reminds me of the person I’ve started dating and falling in love with right now.”
“Very happy to be here.”
“Amazing work.”
“I’ve been on a pedalo in that lake! You should’ve painted me in a boat right there!”
“Thank you for these so personal colorful landscapes.”
“Thank you for this trip into the happiness of art!”
“These paintings are both feminine and masculine.”
“Painting on the frames is really unique and exciting.”
“I love all the tree ones. I’m a trees guy.”
“You saw lots of colours in this place, you see a lot of the colours because you’re an artist, but I just see an excellent place for me to ride my motorcycle and have one of my greatest rides.”
“I would arrange them in my home in this way…”
“I need to bring back my wife before I buy because she is the boss.”
“I need to bring back my husband before I buy to check he enjoys it too.”
“I need to bring back my child tomorrow so you can inspire them the way you inspired me.”
The exhibition is on until November 2020.
IMMENSITIES Art Show: Art Base, 29 rue des Sables Zandstraat, 1000 Bruxelles
I hope I’m countering the negativity that’s always in the news by being in the press with positive paintings that people find uplifting.
Translation to English:
I Feel Like an Art Ambassador to Greece
Greece inspires my art.
Tropical beaches in Europe. Guaranteed good weather. Mountains, special architecture and sea. Greece is so beautiful.
My art inspires people to visit it.
I hosted a collector of works of art from Northern Europe at a private presentation of my exhibition, and while they were planning to buy a painting from Belgium, they ended up buying a painting from Greece! They then told me that the location I had painted – Naxos Island in particular – has become their first priority for their next vacation. This makes me proud of the beauty of my “adopted” country. It makes me feel like an art ambassador for Greece.
In addition to beauty
The paintings are not intended to be just aesthetically pleasing, there is still underlying philosophy, mythology, the cultural context.
My painting of Cape Tainaro changes, you might reflect on it more peacefully, when you know it is the mythological gateway to the underworld.
The Temple of Sounion of Poseidon seems more impressively ancient when you feel young compared to the age of the architecture.
The view of Meteora is a unique mix of cultural heritage and ancient geology.
My motivation is that I miss Greece
I named my exhibition IMMENSITIES. This is a collection of great landscapes of Greece and Belgium. Although my life between Greece and Belgium is a “permanent journey,” the boundaries are missing from this collection.
The art collector who came to buy a painting about Belgium, but ended up buying a painting from Greece, taught me that although there is a very personal journey for me here, with the presence of these two countries in my life, and my response, in terms of their beauty, as an aesthetic experience. And yet, even though the collector cannot travel outside the “Red Zone” of Belgium at the moment, they were inspired to visit Naxos. How much I miss Greece was “translated” through art as a source of inspiration into their enthusiasm to visit it.
The collection is presented in an exhibition entitled IMMENSITIES at the Art Base gallery in Brussels from 24 September 2020.
* Tamar Levi is a painter and author of children’s books She grew up in Alaska, lives in Belgium and has “married” into Greece – See more at https://tamarlevi.com/
by Tamar Levi
Greece Inspires My Art
Tropical beaches in Europe. Guaranteed good weather. Mountains, architecture and the sea. Greece is so beautiful.
My Art Inspires People to Visit
I was surprised: a North European art collector came to a private viewing of my solo show intending to buy a painting of Belgium but ended up buying a painting of Greece!
The art collector then told me that the location I had painted has become their top priority for their next holiday. This makes me feel proud of the beauty of my adopted country. This makes me excited for their first journey to the places that inspire me. It also makes me feel like an art ambassador for Greece.
Greece Has Hidden Beauty Too
The thing I want to share with some of this collection as a whole is that Greece is beautiful all over, not just the most famous sights.
The smaller gallery works travel far and wide and around hidden corners.
I have painted some popular destinations, but also lots of hidden parts of the mainland and islands and villages in colours you might not expect, from angles you might want to explore.
There are large paintings, one monoprint and even small sketches in watercolour and acrylic from my travel sketchbooks.
The monoprint was inspired by a series of watercolour sketches created during a deeply emotional journey to the Kalavryta monument.
There are even hidden nature landscapes in the city of Athens too!
For example, did you know there’s a very beautiful, peaceful and deserted part of Palio Psychiko in Athens?
It looks like mountains on the moon, but with secret, delicate wild flowers.
More Than Beauty
The paintings do not aim to be just aesthetically pleasing, there’s a philosophy and mythology and cultural context in them too.
I try to paint with longing and wonder. Ancient Greek Philosophy might say there’s an Aristotelian catharsis intentionally expressed through longing to return to these landscapes. Modern philosophers might say there’s an exploration of Kant’s concept of the sense of wonder for the sublime in nature.
My painting of the Temple at Cape Tenaron grows deeper and calmer when you know it’s the mythological gateway to the underworld.
The Temple of Sounio appears more childlike when you feel young compared to the age of the stones.
The view of Meteora is a globally unique mixture of cultural heritage and Paleogenic rock formations. Can you see the spectacular wild vegetation that houses comparatively miniature monasteries there too?
Me Missing Greece Becomes A Positive Gateway
My current solo show is called IMMENSITIES. It’s a collection of large landscapes of Greece and Belgium. Although living between Greece and Belgium is my current journey, the boundaries are not so present in this collection.
The art collector that came for Belgium but ended up buying Greece taught me there is a deeply personal journey of my encounter here, with these two nations’ presence in nature, and my response to their beauty as an aesthetic experience. However, they were both explored in a shared global pandemic and so in each canvas there is the shared need for passing through a gateway, whether it be painted, or over the frame, or beyond the water, and onwards into an expanding space in front of us. Even though the collector cannot travel out of our Red Zone for the moment, they have been inspired to visit.
How much I miss Greece has translated into inspiring her excitement to visit. This movement towards positive change is intentional. I hope that through all these bright colours, you can sense the optimism I’m trying to plaster on our walls. This is my political act: to counter the negativity of the news, the lockdowns, the temporal ruptures, with colourful movement across borderless canvases intended for regular positive uplift of your mood at home. The painting of Greece that will shine in their home will transport their family on holiday every day until they visit.
Then it will be the momento that came before the nostalgia that came after a trip to Greece.
Turning Outwards
The large size of the canvas is significant. It offers you more space for your inner life.
There is a proclivity to turn inward when there is a global pandemic, but I want these paintings to remind the viewer of the spiritual release we receive when engaging with wide views of majestic nature.
The orientation is not just physical, it’s a psychological direction too. These are landscapes that inspire the sublime.
Kant’s philosophy of aesthetics involves the idea that a small human form as audience to a vast largeness will give us a sublime experience of nature. This is an almost spiritual release, like the gasp when you see a brilliant view.
Until recently I illustrated children’s books with big ideas, such as philosophy and theoretical mathematics, these were big in another sense. The title of this collection, Immensities, speaks to the broad horizons in these paintings, but it is also the far reaches of your mind. The Immensity of how your soul expands when you stand on these cliff tops or at the heart of these lush forests.
Choosing the Correct Outlook
Of course, one must choose angles of certain landscapes that first offer that sense of space. Only then a good initial sketch on location can provide the best possible opening of the shapes to make one feel the freedom of that sense of place. Travel memories and sketchbooks are brought back to the studio. In this case, my studio was my home during lockdown.
Optical Illusion
When you look at visual culture online you don’t think about the scale. Scale matters. If it encompasses you in real life, if it is bigger than real life, you enter the scene more deeply. You are smaller than the canvas. You are a child. In that way, your childlike wonder is more instantly stimulated.
I noticed the big ones made me afraid. Am I afraid to take up space? Am I afraid of bigger, more visible mistakes? Whatever the case, the larger canvases were necessary to achieve the goal: a nearly fish-eye lens viewpoint expressed on larger canvases is designed to provide a sense of perspective. These vistas are an offering for expansion, travel opportunities not lost, but to be found, again and again.
Different Directions
There are different walks you can take into these landscapes. In my last continuous line illustrated series I “took a line for a walk,” and in this one your eye can take a journey down different paths.
Although I visited these landscapes with my sketchbook in freer times, I painted this whole series, ironically, under the world’s first lockdown. It is the first time in the history of civilisation that all recreational activities were cancelled and we were prohibited to travel. As a family we were respecting the safety precautions and so it was with a sense of grief that I became an artist in residence in my own home and my art expressed the wider world. I painted with love the wild bluebells of Hallerbos forest during the time of year that those bluebells bloom. I recalled our joy in discovering that cool and shadowy woods with its bright points of violet where the bluebells carpeted the clearing and I painted it knowing I could not visit this year. So it was with a sense of longing and grief that I travelled those landscapes again in my heart and in my art, but they are intended as a gift to the flat walls of collector’s homes, deeply shapely and opening and widening the views you might or might not have from your windows, and allowing another scene to open up another view for you.
Painting Positivity
I hope the shapes appear spontaneous at first glance and give a gasping sense of space but then, if you’d like to look closer you might notice a thoughtful layering of light and carefully composed colours that builds up a sense of positivity and imbues warmth.
I was surprised: a North European art collector came to view the works of Belgium but ended up buying a very specific painting of Greece. It made me realise that although living between Greece and Belgium is my journey, the boundaries are not so present in this collection. There is a deeply personal journey of my encounter with these two nations’ presence in nature, as an aesthetic experience. However, they were explored in a shared global pandemic and so in each canvas there is the shared need for passing through a gateway, whether it be painted, or over the frame, or beyond the water, and onwards into an expanding space in front of us. This movement towards positive change is intentional: I hope you can sense the optimism I’m trying to plaster on our walls. This is my political act: to counter the negativity of the news with the colourful movement across canvases intended for regular positive uplift of your mood at home.
This collection will be exhibited in a solo show titled IMMENSITIES at Art Base gallery from the 24th of September 2020.
Now, thanks to this global pandemic, now we know having a view is nearly essential. We finally understand that if we do not have picture windows, then landscape art can open up our small rooms and turn house arrest into a home sanctuary.
These works were painting from memory during lockdown. They are my response to the feeling of being in closed quarters: painting widening vistas across the canvas.
What techniques did I choose to create a sense of more space?
Click on the links below for more description.
Landscapes that make more space in your head & home.
Colour mixing & texture to encourage dynamic eye movement.
Painting on the frame to create sculptural depth.
This collection will be exhibited in a solo show titled IMMENSITIES at Art Base gallery from the 24th of September 2020.
