Marquesa Gallery · Contemporary Art
Artists

Saint Paul de Vence, France

Arik Levy

Sculpture · Installation · Photography · Video
RockFormationTower 125 by Arik Levy

Works

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Biography

Portrait of Arik Levy

Arik Levy (Tel Aviv, 1963) lives and works between Saint Paul de Vence and Paris. His practice spans sculpture, installation, painting, photography, video and design. He investigates how material, light and space alter perception, and how a form can express human relationships, tensions and emotional states.

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After moving to Europe in 1988, he graduated with distinction from Art Center Europe, Switzerland, in 1991. A subsequent stay in Japan broadened his investigation of process, formal reduction and the relationship between objects and their surroundings. During the 1990s he worked with contemporary dance and opera companies, an experience that informed his thinking about the body and movement in space.

The Rock, RockGrowth, RockFormation and RockStone families form an essential part of his sculptural language. Their faceted structures connect mineral appearances with the idea of growth, while the Log and FixingNature series explore other relationships with organic forms, transformation and balance. Mirror-polished stainless steel, Corten steel, bronze, wood and glass create different experiences of reflection, texture, weight and transparency. The scale ranges from intimate pieces to monumental works.

His work in public space includes RockGrowth 808 Atomium (2014), a 26.5-foot (8.08 m) sculpture installed in Brussels. At Fondazione Bisazza, Experimental Growth (2012) introduced Rock Chamber, a work incorporated into the permanent collection and conceived together with its surrounding space. At Hangar Y in Meudon, RockStoneShift 235 brings his investigation of fragmentation and reflection into the landscape.

His institutional projects include Un/Natural History (2017–2018), organized by The Baker Museum in partnership with Naples Botanical Garden; Pensées invisibles (2022–2023), presented with Zoé Ouvrier in dialogue with the Musée Barbier-Mueller collections; and Silent Futures (2025–2026) at Museum DKM in Duisburg. His career also encompasses installations and exhibitions across Europe, Asia and the Americas, from museums to sculpture parks.

Design is another strand of this practice. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York acquired Need light in 1998, a piece from his investigation into lighting. The Centre Pompidou holds the lighting device FractalCloud 5 unit (2005), donated by the artist in 2006, in its Design collection, alongside furniture and lighting objects. His investigation of light and function thus coexists with his sculptural production. In 2009 he was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Republic.

In Saint Paul de Vence, his Sculpture Park extends the work of the studio into a Mediterranean setting, allowing visitors to experience the sculptures in relation to vegetation, light and their own movement. In 2026, Marquesa Gallery presents Intimate Bond, an exhibition exploring the links between emotion, intuition, material and consciousness, bringing different stages of his research into the gallery.

Artist's website

Documented career

Institutional highlights

MoMA, New York · Need light

1998 · The Museum of Modern Art in New York acquired Need light. The piece belongs to his investigation into lighting design.

Source

Centre Pompidou · Design collection

The museum holds FractalCloud 5 unit (2005), a device made of five fluorescent microtubes donated by Levy in 2006, alongside furniture and lighting pieces. These holdings specifically document the design strand of his practice.

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The Baker Museum · Un/Natural History

2017–2018 · An exhibition organized by The Baker Museum / Artis—Naples in partnership with Naples Botanical Garden. It brought together sculptures and installations inspired by mineral and organic structures, presented across both venues.

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Musée Barbier-Mueller · Pensées invisibles

2022–2023 · A joint project by Arik Levy and Zoé Ouvrier, invited to create a dialogue between their work and the Geneva museum’s collections. The exhibition included pieces from the RockGrowth, RockFormationTower and FixingNature series.

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Atomium · Monumental public sculpture

2014 · RockGrowth 808 Atomium, a unique 26.5-foot (8.08 m) work in Brussels. It combines red-finished stainless steel with mirror-polished surfaces, exploring the relationship between mineral form and organic growth.

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Fondazione Bisazza · Rock Chamber

2012 · Experimental Growth introduced Rock Chamber, a monumental sculpture integrated into the permanent collection. Levy conceived both the work and its presentation space, connecting sculpture, architecture and the visitor’s experience.

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CV and career

Selected highlights

Education and early projects
  • 1991 · Graduated with distinction from Art Center Europe, Switzerland. Training in industrial design.
  • Following graduation · Period of work and research in Japan.
  • 1990s · Stage collaborations with contemporary dance and opera companies.
Solo exhibitions
  • 2026 · Intimate Bond. Marquesa Gallery, Madrid.
  • 2026 · Where the Light Falls. Louise Alexander Gallery, Porto Cervo.
  • 2025–2026 · Silent Futures. Museum DKM, Duisburg.
  • 2025 · Quest for Stability. Louise Alexander Gallery, Porto Cervo.
  • 2024 · FragileBalance. Podgorny Robinson Gallery, Saint Paul de Vence.
  • 2024 · The Beauty of the Other. Pilevneli Gallery, Yalıkavak, Bodrum.
  • 2024 · Transition of Balance. Galerie Scheffel, Bad Homburg.
  • 2021–2022 · EmotionalEquity. Pilevneli Gallery, Istanbul.
  • 2021 · MineralForest. Galerie Scheffel, Bad Homburg.
  • 2020–2021 · BeyondNature. Method & Concept, Naples, Florida.
  • 2020 · IN/DEPENDENCE. Espace Muraille, Geneva.
  • 2020 · MineralNature. Château Sainte Roseline, Les Arcs.
  • 2020 · CrossoverReflections. Louise Alexander Gallery, Porto Cervo.
  • 2019 · Intersection of Existence. Pilevneli Gallery, Istanbul.
  • 2017–2018 · Un/Natural History. The Baker Museum / Artis—Naples and Naples Botanical Garden, Florida.
  • 2017 · I Remembered It Differently. Setareh Gallery, Düsseldorf.
  • 2016 · Absent Presence. Alon Segev Gallery, Tel Aviv.
  • 2015 · Manmade (Human) Nature. Pékin Fine Arts, Hong Kong.
  • 2015 · Intimate Formations. Please Do Not Enter, Los Angeles.
  • 2014 · Primitive Components. Alon Segev Gallery, Tel Aviv.
  • 2013 · Activated Nature. Galerist, Istanbul.
  • 2012 · Experimental Growth. Fondazione Bisazza, Montecchio Maggiore.
  • 2012 · Nothing is Quite as It Seems. Passage de Retz, Paris.
  • 2012 · Genetic Intimacy. Alon Segev Gallery, Tel Aviv.
  • 2010 · Luminescence, between Fire & Ice. Santa Monica Museum of Art, California.
  • 2005 · Feel before you see. Garanti Gallery, Istanbul.
Group exhibitions and public art
  • 2026 · Labour of Love. Galerist, Istanbul. Group exhibition.
  • 2026 · ESTAMPA, with Marquesa Gallery, Madrid. Art fair.
  • 2026 · Chengdu Biennale, China. Installation.
  • 2025–2026 · RockStoneShift 235. Hangar Y sculpture trail, Meudon.
  • 2025 · Venice_Transformed. Palazzo Pisani, Venice. Group exhibition.
  • 2023 · Blickachsen 13. Bad Homburg and the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region.
  • 2023 · 7th Jing’an International Sculpture Project, Shanghai. RockGrowth 320 Corten and RockFormationTower 455 Corten.
  • 2022–2023 · Pensées invisibles. Musée Barbier-Mueller, Geneva. Joint exhibition with Zoé Ouvrier.
  • 2022–2023 · A Chair and You. mudac, Lausanne. Group exhibition.
  • 2022 · Ghost 350 Corten. Domaine du Muy, Le Muy. Sculpture installation.
  • 2019 · Sculpture by the Sea. Bondi, Australia.
  • 2019 · Blickachsen 12. Bad Homburg and the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region.
  • 2018 · RockTripleFusion. Permanent installation of two monumental sculptures at One Park Taipei, Taiwan.
  • 2016 · 20/20. Les Rencontres d’Arles, Arles. Group exhibition.
  • 2014 · RockGrowth 808 Atomium. Permanent installation in public space, Brussels.
  • 2013 · Lightopia. Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein. RewindableLight video.
  • 2012 · Digital Crystal. Design Museum, London. Osmosis Interactive installation.
  • 2012 · Transparent Opacity. Swarovski Kristallwelten, Wattens. Installation.
  • 2005–2006 · SAFE: Design Takes On Risk. MoMA, New York. Group exhibition.
  • 2005 · D.Day. Centre Pompidou, Paris. From primitive to virtual installation.
  • 2004 · Brilliant. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Group exhibition.
Awards and distinctions
  • 2009 · Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, French Republic.
Collections

Source: the artist's official CV

  • MoMA, New York · Need light; a 1998 acquisition.
  • Centre Pompidou, Paris · Design collection: FractalCloud 5 unit (2005; donated in 2006), furniture and lighting objects.
  • Fondazione Bisazza, Montecchio Maggiore · Rock Chamber, incorporated into the permanent collection with Experimental Growth (2012).
  • The Baker Museum, Naples, Florida · RockGrowth 370, documented by the studio as part of the permanent collection.
  • Museum of Arts and Design, New York · Giant Giants Mega Heliodor Candlestick (2007), recorded in its 2009 annual report.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, London · Umbilical ball and Umbilical knitted lights.
  • Israel Museum, Jerusalem · White hole and Need, an installation and lighting design.
  • The Art Institute of Chicago · Contemporary Domestic Confessional.
View CV

Exhibitions at Marquesa

1 exhibition

Texts and publications

Exhibition texts

Text by the artist

Intimate Bond

Arik Levy

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Intimate Bond invites us to recognize that connection already exists — that thoughts, emotions, and perceptions are rarely isolated, but are born through links, transmissions, and projections from one state of being to another. Almost like a neurological chain reaction: neurons firing, invisible signals traveling through an intricate internal network.

The intimacy of the space and the relationship formed with the works create this bond — a feeling that cannot always be clearly described or fully understood, and yet is deeply felt. The works connect not only with their subjects and the environment around them, but also with the viewer and with their own inner hive of existence: a conglomerate of memories, experiences, emotions, hormonal chemistry, electrical impulses and subconscious associations.

Sometimes, I almost wish the works weren’t seen first, but felt. Not touched, but inhaled. Experienced before being identified. And when the eyes finally open, sight simply confirms a feeling that was already there.

This exhibition is a threshold into the many layers of my research and artistic language — an invitation to step into a perceptual territory where intuition, emotion, matter, and consciousness continually interact.

Intimate Bond

Documentary selection

Press and publications

Process and conversations

Videos

Arik Levy · Artist's archive

Arik Levy at La Maison Champs Elysées

Video interview about his project at La Maison Champs Elysées.

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