CHRONOLOGY
1954 Born in New York
French mother is noted author Tereska Torres and American father noted novelist Meyer Levin
1950s-60s Grows up between New York, Paris, and Israel
1972-73 Williams College
1974-76 Hampshire College (B.A.)
1976-80 Lives in Paris, begins career as photographer and filmmaker
1980 Moves to New York
1980s-present Exhibits throughout the US and Europe
2003 His Notes from the Periphery project is exhibited at the Venice Biennale, curated by Carlos Basualdo
2010 Moves to Gowanus, Brooklyn
2020 Moves to Bellport, NY
SOLO EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)
2024 Critical Places; Sites of American Slave Rebellion | Melrose, Natchez National History Park, MS, USA
Critical Places; Sites of American Slave Rebellion | Alcorn State University, Lorman, MS, USA
2023 Subaqueous | L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, New York, USA
2022 Work in Progress: Critical Places; Sites of American Slave Rebellion | Galerie Gilles Peyroulet & Cie, Paris, France
2017 Real Pictures | Galerie Gilles Peyroulet & Cie, Paris, France
2014 Mikael Levin / Marek Szwarc | L'acuteté photographique de Lectoure, France
2012 Landscape with Calm (and Trash) | Galerie Gilles Peyroulet & Cie, Paris, France
The City and the Walls | Gallery of the School of Architecture, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2010 Cristina's History | Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaisme, Paris, France
Settling into Nature | Hofstra University Museum, Hepstead, NY, USA
Prince Aniaba, il n'y a donc plus de différence entre vous et moi que du noir au blanc. (Louis XIV) | Galerie Gilles Peyroulet & Cie, Paris, France
2009 Cristina's History | The Berardo Collection Museum, Lisbon, Portugal
Cristina's History | Le Point du Jour, Cherbourg, France
2008 Seuil / Threshold | Galerie Gilles Peyroulet & Cie, Paris, France
2003 Mikael Levin, Photographies | Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France
2000 Common Places | Storefront for Art and Architecure, New York, USA
1998 The Burden of Identity and Suche (War Story) | Haus am Kleistpark, Berlin, Germany
1997 War Story | International Center of Photography, New York, USA
1994 The Border Project | Goethe House and French Cultural Services, New York, USA
1989 Traumhafte Reise | Josef Albers Museum, Bottrop, Germany
1988 Silent Passage | Centre d'Action Culturelle Granit, Belfort, France
1986 Galerie Michele Chomette, Paris, France
1984 Susan Harder Gallery, New York, USA
1983 Ernesto Mayans Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
1980 Fundacion Mendoza, Caracas, Venezuela
1979 Camera Obscura, Stockholm, Sweden
1977 The Photographers' Gallery, London, UK
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)
2023 Tales From Gowanus | Powerhouse Arts, Brooklyn, USA
Toward a Self-Made Shore: Black Histories in Southern Maryland | Boyden Gallery, MD, USA
Viewfinders: Photographers Frame Nature | Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY, USA
THE REAL DMZ PROJECT | Dora Observatory, Paju, South Korea
2022 Water Lines | Marquee Projects, Bellport, NY, USA
2020 Real DMZ project: Negotiating Borders | Korean Cultural Center and Fiminco Foundation, Paris, France
2019 An Artist's Place | Marquee Projects, Bellport, NY, USA
Say Shibboleth! On Visible and Invisible Borders | Juedisches Museum, Munich, Germany
Sediment: As Above So Below | Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse, NY, USA
A Room for Solace | The Photography Show, Presented by AIPAD (Curated by Alec Soth), NY, USA
2018 By the Sea: Mikael Levin, Vera Lutter, Steel Stillman, James Welling | Marquee Projects, Bellport, NY, USA
Say Shibboleth! On Visible and Invisible Borders | Hohenems Jewish Museum, Hohenems, Austria
2014 Travail d'archives | Centre d'art contemporain faux mouvement, Metz, France
2013 Sleeping Beauties IV | Galerie Michele Chomette, Paris, France
2011 A journey through the MAHJ's Contemporary Collection" | Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaisme, Paris, France
2010 Qumran | Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France
2009 New York Moments: Mikael Levin and Rudy Burkhardt | The Solo Project, Basel; Gilles Peyroulet Gallery.
2008 Field Work - Part II | Smart Project Space, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2003 Structures of Survival | Venice Biennale, Italy
2001 Des Territoires | École nationale supérieure de beaux-arts, Paris, France
2000 New York Now 2000 | Museum of the City of New York, USA
1999 "Coming of Age | White Columns, NY, USA
1997 Form Follows [Anything] | Färgfabriken- Center for Contemporary Art and Architecture, Stockholm, Sweden
1996 James Welling and Mikael Levin | Galerie F-15 Alby, Moss, Norway
1995 The Landscape in Question | French Cultural Services, New York, USA
1993 Salon Decouverts | Grand Palais, Paris (Curated by Jean-Claude Lemagny), France
1990 New Acquisitions | Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
Vom Landschafsbild zur Spurensicherung | Musem Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
1989 Lewis Baltz and Mikael Levin | Fotografiska Museet, Stockholm
1987 Beautiful Photographs | One Penn Plaza, New York (Curated by Gene Thorton), USA
1985 La Photographie Creative | Pavillon des Arts, Paris (Curated by J.C. Lemagny), France
Construire le Paysage de la Photographie | Caves Sainte-Croix, Metz, France
1984 Trees and Clouds | Witkin Gallery, New York, USA
MONOGRAPHS AND CATALOGUES
2022 Au bord | Monograph. Texts by Luc Baboulet and Mikael Levin. Editions de la Villette, Paris,
2015 Some Signs | Artist's Book. Gowanus Souvenir Editions.
2012 The City and the Walls | Exhibition catalog. Essay by Etienne Helmer. School of Architecture/ University of Puerto Rico.
2010 Settling Into Nature | Exhibition Catalog. Essay by Sophia Hatz. Hofstra University Museum.
2009 Cristina's History | Essays by Jean-François Chevrier, Jonathan Boyarin, and Carlos Schwarz Da Silva. Le Point du Jour, Cherbourg.
2005 Pleasant if Somewhat Rude Views | Essays by Gabriel Levin. Onestar Press, Paris.
2003 Mikael Levin photographies | Exhibition catalog. Essay by Philippe Arbaïzar: "Informer le paysage." Bibliotèque Nationale de France, Paris.
2003 War Story | Exhibition catalog. Roundtable discussion with Jean-François Chevrier, Mikael Levin, and Annette Wieviorka. Centre historique des archives nationales, Paris.
2000 Common Places Response Catalog | Texts by Catharina Gabrielsson, Gertrud Sandqvist, Ingo Schulze, Alexandra Yerolympos, Jean-François Chevrier, and others. Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York.
1999 Common Places | Project catalog. Essay by Christopher Phillips.
1998 The Burden of Identity | Exhibition catalog. Essay by Peter Stephan Jungk. Gina Kehayoff Verlag, Munich.
1997 War Story | Texts by Meyer Levin. Introduction by Hanno Loewy, afterword by Ellen Handy. Gina Kehayoff Verlag, Munich. (Also published in German as Suche.)
1994 Borders | Exhibition catalog. Essays by Jean-François Chevrier, Reinhold Mißelbeck, and Laura Trippi. Goethe House / French Cultural Services, New York.
1988 Silent Passage | Introduction by Andy Grundberg. Hudson Hills Press, New York.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS / GROUP EXHIBITION CATALOGUES:
Winter 2020 Division/Review. Vol. 1 No. 20
2019 Rexer, Lyle. The Critical Eye: Fifteen Pictures to Understand Photography |. Intellect Books, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
2019 Osmos Magazine. Different Modernities: Notes from the Periphery and the U N Series. Summer, 2019. New York.
2018 Levin, Boaz; Loewy, Hanno; Reichwald, Anika. Say Shibboleth!. Bucher Verlag, Hohenems.
Summer 2011 Division/Review. Vol. 1 No. 2
2010 Fario. Revue semestrielle de littérature et d'art. Portolio of 8 images from "Margins." Issue #8.
2003 Dreams and Conflicts; the Dictatorship of the Viewer. "Notes from the Periphery." La Biennale di Venezia, Marsilio Editions, p. 262-263.
2002 Paysages territoires. L'Île-de-France comme métaphore. "La Bassée." Éditions Parenthèse, Marseille p. 215-237.
2002 Spectral Evidence; The Photography of Trauma. Ulrich Baer. Chapter Two: "To Give Memory a Place: Holocaust Photography and the Landscape Tradition." Chapter Three: "Meyer Levin's In Search, Mikael Levin's War Story." MIT Press
Oct 2001 Des territoires en revue. "Walking City." École nationale superieure des beaux-arts, Paris, 5/5.
Fall 2000 Le Visiteur. "Common Places." Interview with Mikael Levin by Luc Baboulet. Paris, Issue #6.
1999 Reflections in a Glass Eye. Works from the International Center of Photography Collection. Bulfinch Press, New York.
1997 Documenta X- the book. Cantz Verlag, Kassel.
1997 Kunstforum. "Mikael Levin: Judische Spurensuche." #137
Spring 1997 Blind Spot Photography Magazine. "Coming of Age." New York, #9
1992 Les Quatre Saisons du Territoire. four-volume set. Editions de l'Est:
L'Hiver Introduction by John Berger
L'Automne Introduction by Claude Louis-Combert
Le Printemps Introduction by Regis Durand, essay by Alain Buttard
L'Éte Introduction by Jean-Claude Lemagny
VIDEOS
2020 Bellhaven (7 minutes, 30 seconds)
2017 At Work: Me, My Brother, Our Father (24 minutes)
2015 Frontline Peace Observatory (10 minutes, loop)
2015 Observation (15 minutes)
2014 Gowanus Broadside (90 minutes)
2014 Quest (69 minutes) Silent
2013 Guinée Portugaise (13 minutes)
2012 Inside Looking In (15 minutes)
MAJOR PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France
Canadian Center for Architecture, Montréal, Canada
Centre national d'art et de culture George Pompidou, Paris, France
Fonds National d'Art Contemporain, Paris, France
International Center of Photography, New York, USA
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Jewish Museum, New York, USA
Jüdisches Museum, Berlin, Germany
Metropolitan Museum, New York, USA
Moderna Museet, Stockholm, USA
Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Space for Contemporary Art. Seoul, South Korea
Statens Konstrad, Stockholm, Sweden
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA
GRANTS / AWARDS / COMMISSIONS
2015 Artist in Residence. THE REAL DMZ PROJECT. Cheorwon, South Korea
2013 Artist in Residence. Centre d'art et photographie de Lectoure. Lectoure, France
2012 Artist in Residence. Centre régionale de la photographie nord-pas-de-calais. Douchy, France
2010 Artist in Residence. Fonds Photographique Pierre Soulillou. Moncalou, France
2009 Prix Maratier. Foundation pour le Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaisme, Paris, France
2008 Burundi National Police Training Photographs. Commissioned by Belgian Technical Cooperation.
2006 Visiting Artist. Cooper Union. New York, USA
2005 Artist in Residence. Chinati Art Foundation. Marfa, Texas, USA
2002 Commission "La Bassée: A French Landscape in Transition." Direction Régional de L'environment, Paris, France
2001 Artist in Residence. Caribbean Contemporary Arts. Port of Spain, Trinidad
Artist in Residence. Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. Bethany, Connecticut, USA
2000 Commission "Sanctuaire de Source." Direction Régional de L'environment, Paris, France
Visiting Artist. Ecole d'Architecture, Nantes, France
1999 Commission "La Bassée - The alluvial plain." Direction Régional de L'environment, Paris, France
1997 Fellowship. Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, New York, USA
1996 Artist's Residency. Institut Francais de Thessalonique, Greece
1993 Project Grant "The Border Project." French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1991 Artist in Residence. Light Work, Syracuse, New York, USA
1987-91 Commission "Les Quatre Saisons du Territoire." Centre d'Action Culturel Granit, Belfort, France
1985 "Jury Prize" Festival International de la Photographie Contemporaine, Dunkerque, France