Yulia Levkovich & Tom Montan
Sophie Infarinato in Emerging Artist Gallery
June 24 – July 29, 2023
Tom Montan
Tom Montan is an artist who has dedicated over 35 years to honing his craft. Self-taught and passionate, his paintings have garnered recognition in the United States and abroad, earning him notoriety and numerous commissions. Tom focuses on figurative and portrait work, where he strives to capture the essence of his subjects and their self-determination. His paintings are visually striking and possess a larger-than-life perspective. You are immediately drawn in, and invited to experience the painting on a deeper level.
Initially, Tom’s artistic focus lay in figurative sculpture, where he worked with stone, cast concrete, and resins. However, he radically changed directions in 2011, inspired by a trip to the national portrait gallery in London, England. As a result, he transitioned to oil painting, using his sharpened skills to create captivating and emotionally resonant works.
Based in upstate New York, Tom is Executive Director of Sculpture Space in Utica, working to support and promote the arts in his community. He spends his nights and weekends perfecting his art, driven by a deep passion and an unwavering dedication to his craft. Tom’s works are not just paintings but are expressions of his love for humanity and the human form.
Experience Tom’s paintings. They will draw you in.
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Yulia Levkovich
Yulia Levkovich is a representational painter. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including the Beau-Xi Gallery, Flowers Gallery and MUNSON. Yulia had worked previously as Art Production Assistant for Jeff Koons, where there she worked on pieces that were exhibited at Versailles and Gagosian Gallery. Yulia has taught privately, as well as in several institutions including The New York Academy of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and currently teaches at Pratt Munson Institute in Utica, NY.
Yulia was born in Ukraine, where her family first immigrated to Israel, then to Canada. In Canada, at the age of 13, she was exposed to the Russian School of painting, through a private apprenticeship with Emanuel Katz. Under Michael John Angel, who himself studied with Pietro Annigoni, she completed her rigorous training at the Academy of Realist Art. During her training at the Academy, she received her BFA from OCAD University in Toronto. She proceeded to receive her MFA at the New York Academy of Art, after graduating with Honors in 2008.
You’ll find her art interesting, challenging and fun.
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Sophie Infarinato
Sophie Infarinato (b. 1999, Oneida, NY) is an oil painter from Central New York who now lives in Boston, Massachusetts where she is pursuing her painting. She is a representational oil painter whose work combines traditional and contemporary techniques to explore visual emotional responses using depictions of people and places from her life.
“I am interested in how small moments from my life can speak largely about visceral, ineffable emotional responses to visuals. I paint people and environments from my life, using photos I take with my phone as source material. I often employ exclusion of detail, playfulness with drawing, color, composition and value in order to express my emotional intent most candidly. My goal is that the time I spend working on my paintings makes me a more thoughtful and mindful person and allows me to connect and relate to any viewers by showing the world as I know it and see it.”
Infarinato graduated Summa Cum Laude from the State University of New York at Oswego in 2021 earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in painting and art history. She has been included in many group and juried shows regionally, and in 2021 she received a Scholarly and Creative Activities grant which funded a series of paintings that resulted in a solo exhibition at the Art Association of Oswego. Most recently, Infarinato was the recipient of the 2023/2024 New Student Scholarship at the Academy of Realist Art Boston, where she will be attending full time in the fall.
MVCA is excited to have Sophie Infarinato in Gallery 402 from June 24-July 29. Her work lets you briefly into her life, what she sees around her and what see observes of life that goes by day-to-day. It’s easy to find yourself quietly becoming part of the conversation in front of you. It’s about the life we live.
Opening Reception June 24 from 2:00PM – 4:00PM
401-403 Canal Place, Little Falls, NY 13365
Mohawkvalleyarts.org @mvca_fine_arts @MVCArts
Free and open to the public! Donations are welcome.
