A Magician in the Studio

Dani Levine’s studio at the Fine Arts Work Center, where she’s a visual arts fellow, feels like an old-time painting workshop transposed to the present. “I like the notion of time travel with painting,” says Levine, who enjoys science fiction. Her imagery and colors reach across time: she works with pictures from 1970s feminist and lesbian zines and paints with everything from synthetic fluorescents to earthy pigments that have been used for thousands of years.

Levine’s workspace suggests the idea of painter as alchemist or magician — a manipulator of materials for expressive means. In one corner is a cabinet full of ground pigments, chalks, oils, and gum arabic crystals. On the windowsill, a copper pipe sits in vinegar to create verdigris, a bluish-green pigment. Tables covered in glass fill the center of the studio, where Levine makes her own paint, grounds, and mediums. The smell of oil paint permeates the air. For Levine, materials aren’t just a means to an end; they are central players in her practice.