Working with a limited palette on toned backgrounds, Levenstein’s compositions are characterized by the patient build-up of layers of paint which are often scraped back and re-applied slowly and meticulously over many months.

 Levenstein’s works trace back to the European tradition of painting, from Italian Mannerism and Caravaggio to Degas, Ingres, and Morandi, going through the meditative scenes of Caspar David Friedrich. The artist’s subjects, still lifes and landscapes, are among the most traditional genres in figurative painting.