Nina Levy at Peter Miller - Chicago, Illinois - Review of Exhibitions

Art in America, May, 1994 by Susan Snodgrass

Although the exhibition was titled "Souvenirs," Nina Levy's sculptures of human figures offer mainly reflections on personal identity. As with Kiki Smith, Levy's interest in the paradoxes of human existence is implied in her choice of materials, which are often as fragile and translucent as they are physically commanding. Made primarily from cast and dyed resin, Levy's works are self-portraits which the artist variously alters and multiplies. She experiments with varied postures and facial expressions--a pucker, a scream, a kiss--to evoke psychological and emotional states that suggest the dark side of the human psyche.

Her heads and bodies range from small-scale to life-size. Sometimes they recall familiar objects. In Party Mix, a clear glass bowl contains a feast of small, brightly colored heads--reminiscent of mixed nuts or cherries?--each wearing the same demonic grin. Here the artist seems to ask whether we are transformed through our social interactions into anonymous, consuming (and consumable) entities. In Culture Plate, a clear circular platter contains similar small heads, this time colored a brilliant red, which extend their tongues as if to lick. These fragmentary forms evoke the way that the uniqueness of the individual gives way before larger cultural forces such as language and the dictates of taste.

There is an implicit sense of ritual in several of Levy's configurations, as well as an introspective quality that borders on narcissism. In Cycle, the 28 small, identical nude figures with bowed heads and folded arms suggest Cycladic statues assembled to perform a ceremony. The same postures are shared by the seven women who form the large-scale companion piece Group Portrait In the latter, the figures turn their backs to the viewer, creating a closed, even defensive grouping. Yet each individual figure appears detached and self-absorbed.

Perhaps more revealing than the sculptures themselves are Levy's accompanying graphite drawings. Diaristic and confessional, they largely serve as studies and notations for the sculptural pieces. They confirm, however, the broad range of the artist's methods and concerns, and indicate the various "selves" explored in this work.