Interview with Julia Levitina

Watch our video interview with one of the recipients of the P.S. We Love Our Members Grant, Julia Levitina:

Julia Levitina was born and raised in Odessa, Ukraine. She currently lives and works in Philadelphia, splitting her time between the United States and France. Levitina creates powerful and elegant figurative sculpture in bronze that aims to capture extraordinary in the ordinary. Her work strives to entice the feeling of awe as its creator searches for wisdom by way of wonder.

Julia Levitina makes her own clay, molds, waxes, and does all subsequent casting and finishing of her bronzes, including melting and pouring metal, in her Philadelphia studio.

Levitina on art:

"I think artist’s gift is two-fold: seeing extraordinary in the ordinary and communicating that sense of wonder by way of art. I am inspired, challenged, moved to my deepest core by the beauty present in ordinary existence. I strive to convey the awe I experience through my sculptures. Recurring themes in my work are a kind of a quest for wisdom, a nod to the disappearing old world, an attempt to resuscitate beauty. I try to capture everyday moments that are at once transient and transcendent, that may easily go unnoticed but that turn out to have universal significance when perceived. In today’s world, that so often places pragmatism over heart and values destination more than journey, it has never been more important to seek ways to return to a richer, deeper human experience. Art brings us nearer by offering a single most direct form of communication: from one human being to another. It is the highest form of hope."

Julia's Artist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julialevitinasculpture/

Julia's Artist Website: http://www.julialevitina.com/english.html