Press Release

Lévy Gorvy Dayan is delighted to present Breathing In, the first United States exhibition for the celebrated British painter Alison Watt, whose still lifes marry contemporary concepts with the painterly language of classic European portraiture. Opening May 9, 2024, Breathing In will feature a host of new and never-before-seen paintings and coincide with Lévy Gorvy Dayan’s presentation of Watt’s significant canvas Peale (2018) at the Independent Art Fair. Watt’s paintings luxuriate in the details from art historical portraiture that serve as encapsulations of the sitter’s character, with special emphasis on fabrics and the stories told by their creases. White predominates in her paintings, though like her inanimate subjects, it is given profound dimension through her explorations of its reflective intricacies. The overall effect Watt achieves is one of absent presence. ‘The still life can be very intimate,’ Watt has said. ‘And because of its close connection to us, how we view it is continually being redefined. It continues to evolve because it reflects us. So, by its very nature, it is linked to the portrait. The still life is a portrait without likeness.’

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About the Artist

Widely regarded as one of the leading painters working in the United Kingdom, Alison Watt won the National Portrait Gallery’s prestigious annual award in 1987, while still a student at the Glasgow School of Art. She subsequently became known for her figurative paintings, often portraying female nudes, before beginning, in the late 1990s, to focus on depictions of fabric, which had previously acted as supports or backdrops for her compositions. Rather than eliminate the figure, her paintings evoke the human presence through its absence.

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Also Exhibiting at Lévy Gorvy Dayan

About the Gallery

Helmed by Dominique Lévy, Brett Gorvy, and Amalia Dayan, Lévy Gorvy Dayan collaborates with artists, estates, non-profit organizations, foundations, museums, and private collections to increase the visibility of twentieth- and twenty-first century works and artists—realizing seminal projects and furthering legacies. In forming Lévy Gorvy Dayan, the partners merge their respective specialties across twentieth- and twenty-first century art, their reputations as leaders and tastemakers, and their respective backgrounds in the primary and secondary markets. Lévy Gorvy Dayan provides opportunities for education, exposure, and access to acquiring exceptional art through its museum-quality exhibition program and thoughtful participation in international art fairs. Expanding, refining, and enhancing world-class modern and contemporary art collections, the gallery emphasizes connoisseurship and curation in its collection development, estate planning, and art appraisal services. Both international and local in practice and perspective, Lévy Gorvy Dayan has unique spaces and unmatched market knowledge in New York, London, and Hong Kong, in addition to representation in Geneva, Milan, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore, and Taiwan.

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19 East 64th Street
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New York 19 East 64th Street
Lévy Gorvy Dayan
19 East 64th Street, New York, United States

Opening hours
Tuesday – Saturday
10am – 6pm
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