About LEV GORN
Biography
Lev's
artworks are constructed from hundreds of photographs that Lev takes
in different parts of the globe and then digitally assembles into single
pieces. To build his pieces he employs an in-depth Photoshop process
that he fine-tuned through trial and error.
His work has been acquired by collectors across United States and
Europe, featured in prominent residential projects, and adorns the homes
of Hollywood's elite including film/tv producers, celebrities, and his
mom and dad
Lev was born in the Soviet Union to a Jewish family. His grandfather, David, himself a painter, muralist and sculptor became his first art teacher. In the 1980’s, Lev's family immigrated to the United States and settled in Brooklyn, where Lev went to Yeshiva and then to The High School of Art & Design in Manhattan, and eventually to SUNY Oneonta, where he discovered photography. While on an exchange program at the University of Swansea, he auditioned for a play on a friend's dare. He got the part and immersed himself into a new art form that further deepened his journey as an artist.
Working as an actor in NYC, afforded him to attend the International Center of Photography and become a professional photographer. Some time later, he started writing screenplays and making short films. The film-making process showed Lev how the power of narrative can transform human perception of every day moments.
One day, while walking through Manhattan, he photographed hundreds of people in business suits. The next day, at the beach, he photographed people on the sand. A thought hit him - "each scene has its own emotional value - if I layer the beach image over the business crowd image would I be creating a new emotional value?"
Lev experimend with multiple exposures on 35mm film. He discovered that each seemingly separate moment frozen in his camera is an intersection where the artist's conscious and subconscious simultaneously converged. Taking a step further, Lev started working in the digital format to create dozens of controlled multiple exposures on a single frame. As he incorpored Photoshop, he observed that the viewer's experience can be altered by manipulating traditional points of reference with color, form and context.
Lev's multi-layered artworks dilate the viewer's perception of space-time geometry by creating tension between the artwork's new state of consciousness and the observer.
To preserve the continuity of each project's narrative, Lev works on all the pieces at the same time. His process resembles a film director's in that he has to maintain the integrity of the preceding and upcoming scenes in relationship to the one he is working on in the moment.
In 2011, Lev conceived a photography project which brought him to India, South America, Portugal, Canada and Iceland, and culminated in a 2016 solo exhibition in NYC.
Lev's film and television career covers over 50 films and TV series. He has played a number of standout roles in some of the most highly-acclaimed television series, the Emmy-award winning “The Americans”, “The Wire”, NetFlix "Maniac", "Billions", "Jack Ryan", "Madam Secretary" and many others.
He worked with Woody Allen on “Cafe Society”, opposite Susan Sarandon in “Ace The Case”, “The Good Shepherd” starring Matt Damon, in David Rodriguez’s feature, “Once Upon A Time in Queens” with Michael Rappaport, Paul Sorvino and Chazz Palminteri. Lev’s other films include “Sangre De Mi Sangre” (Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner), “This Teacher”, directed by Independent Spirit Award-winning Mark Jackson, and most recently ”Lingua Franca”, directed by Isabel Sandoval, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival 2019.
“Joe Mover”, Lev’s first short film, won best short at the Appalachian Film Festival and led to a cash grant from The Doorpost Film Project. His second short film, “Ten: Thirty One”, won the best short prize at the Oldenburg Film Festival and took home the best actress award at the Ourense Independent Film Festival.
The success of “Ten: Thirty One”, the story itself, and the profound connection that audiences had with the characters, inspired Lev to co-write the feature screenplay “Get Psycho.” The film will serve as Lev’s directorial feature film debut. Production starts in Spring 2020.
