Patterns and pooches with Richard Levine

Richard Levine is a busy man. After being crowned the winner of IN:SIGHT 2018, the graphic designer and self-confessed pattern enthusiast has released his stunning debut collection.

Hovering between representation and abstraction, his colourful artworks explore the structure of iconic imagery by playing with colour and geometric shapes. One of the nation’s favourite symbols – the humble pooch – has been transformed into something which is both recognisable and unrecognisable all at once. 

“The colours and textures of the stripes pass through various stages,” Richard explains. “I swap, replace and finesse them until I can’t push the piece any further. The viewer can focus in to follow the stripes and focus out to appreciate the familiar form.”  

It's an exciting step for the artist, who reveals he has plenty more themes up his sleeve. Influenced by Op artists from the 1960s (including Victor Vasarely and Richard Anuszkiewicz), he has come a long way since admiring Andy Warhol’s Mickey Mouse prints as a teenager in Hampstead Heath. He adds: “It still hasn’t quite sunk in!”