August 30, 2008 New York,
NY
- Forum Gallery
presents American Presidents & Selected Paintings: 1966 – 2008,
including nearly 50 paintings and drawings by David Levine, America’s acclaimed
observer of humanity and politics. For over four decades Levine has entertained
readers of The New York Review of Books with his often-satirical
portraiture of public figures. The current exhibition brings together these
caricatures and Levine’s intimate painted portraits of the diverse characters
that populate New York City.
The exhibition features a selection of more than 40 political figures from
the caricatures the artist has created since he began working for the New
York Review of Books in 1963. With the November 2008 presidential election
upon us, Levine’s sketches of the Kennedys, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, George H.W.
Bush, the Clintons and their advisors and appointees are a wry and incisive
reminder of how history informs and embellishes political life.
The exhibition celebrates the release of David Levine’s new book, American
Presidents, 128 pages of Levine’s caricatures and anecdotes chronicling five
administrations in some of their most notable and shameful moments. As Bill
Moyers and Michael Winship write in their foreword to the volume:
"For more than four decades, David Levine
has pierced the public image of America’s presidents and politicians with a
fistful of sharpened pen nibs and gallons of India ink carefully tinctured with
carbolic. "Politicians
should be jumped on as often as possible," he once told Time Magazine.
Levine pounced where many feared to tread."
David Levine’s caricatures and
paintings are featured in public and private collections across the country
including, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; The National Portrait
Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; The National Portrait Gallery,
London, UK; The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; The Hirshhorn Museum and
Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; and The Library of
Congress, Washington, DC.
A November 2008 Vanity Fair
article will chronicle David Levine’s art and life, and Forum Gallery is
producing a video interview with the artist to discuss his upcoming exhibition,
his new book, and his recent retirement from 40 years at the New York Review
of Books.
Watch a Video Interview with David
Levine
The 128-page
Fantagraphics book, American Presidents, with an introduction by
Bill Moyers and Michael Winship and commentary by the artist, accompanies the
exhibition and is available for $20 plus $2. S&H. An opening reception will
take place on Thursday October 2, 2008 at Forum Gallery, 745 Fifth Avenue at
57th Street, Fifth Floor. The exhibition continues through Saturday
November 8, 2008. For more information, images or B-roll please contact Rachel
Feinberg at Forum Gallery.
