Wayne Levin
Body surfers, 1983
gelatin print
edition 27/50
Louis Stern Fine Arts is pleased to present three solo photography exhibitions opening on July 27, 2000. Jim McHugh “ Stone Portraits ”; Lara Porzak “Before Waking”; and Wayne Levin “Surf’s Up”.
Jim McHugh “Stone Portraits”
As a child, each day on his way to school, McHugh passed the entrance to the Villa Borghese, guarded by a stone eagle. In McHugh’s image Gargoyle, the eagle stands guard; golden tones reflecting a magical and a dreamlike quality, capturing a glimpse into a specific moment in time. McHugh‘s personal work reflects his everyday experiences and mirrors what passersby may look at daily but not record. He continues to draw the viewer’s attention to experiences we overlook by photographing what we take for granted. Jim McHugh is best known for his high profile clientele and celebrity portraits including those of David Hockney, Samuel L. Jackson, Clint Eastwood, and Tina Turner. His works also grace the covers and inside pages of Architectural Digest and People Magazine.
Lara Porzak “Before Waking”
In Alice’s flight, Porzak draws the viewer into an ethereal reality, as if dreaming (“before waking”), bringing the enchantment of childhood back into our lives. Porzak’s photos express an intimacy with nature and the magical essence of the child within all of us. Porzak’s work conveys an obsession with the ordinary and seeing the extra-ordinary; she sees beauty in all experiences. Porzak has been a professional fine art photographer for the last six years. Her photo-journalistic style appears weekly on the television series Felicity and Judging Amy.
Wayne Levin “Surf’s Up”
Three books have been published on Levin’s photographs, the most recent of which, Through a Liquid Mirror, represents his passion for black and white underwater photography and captures the intimate play between the surfer and the wave. The image Bodysurfers encapsulates Levin’s closeness with the wave, the surfer and the shutter. Clicking the shutter as the surfer skims the edge or dives into the waves, the viewer looks upward toward the phosphorescence, which is seen simultaneously as surface and sky. In providing us with this unexpected view of an alien landscape, Levin allows the viewer to experience the tumult of the surfer’s ride and the ocean’s mood. Levin received his M.F.A. in photography from the Pratt Institute in New York. Levin then returned to Hawaii to teach at the University of Hawaii, where as a professor and artist he continues to hone his craft as a photographer.
There will be an artist’s reception on Thursday, July 27 from 6-9PM. The exhibitions are presented in conjunction with the West Hollywood Galleries.