OAKLAND, CA.- Ceramic sculptor Marilyn Levine, 69, died. Marilyn Levine (b. 1935) dedicated her career to the hyper-realistic rendering of leather objects in clay. A master of trompe-l’oeil, she addressed every detail, from the delicate stitching on the edge of a tennis shoe to the fluid folds and seams of a jacket as it hangs on a wall peg. By effectively replicating the marks, scratches, and signs of wear that leather objects develop with use, Levine endowed her work with a sense of history and humanity. Her consistent dedication to this mode of working has resulted in a substantial body of work that has stood the test of time. As movements and fashions come and go, Levine’s work remains vital and relevant.

Born in Canada, Levine began her career there before moving to California in 1969 to study with Peter Voulkos. Upon receiving her M.F.A. degree in 1971 from University of California, Berkeley, she had already produced her first mature work and defined her signature style. Since that time, Levine has exhibited extensively and her work has found an important place in both the ceramics community and the art world at large. Her work can be found in public and private collections throughout the world, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia.