In the war between man and the natural world, it would appear, judging from Brin Levinson's unpeopled, postapocalyptic cityscapes, that nature has won. Levinson's worlds - washed in dour grays, ochre, and sepia brown - suggest the landscape before us is already becoming a relic.

Born in 1977, Brin Levinson grew up in Northern Vermont and moved west after high school. He attended the California Institute of the Arts, graduating from the character animation program in 2001. After moving to Portland, Oregon that year, his focus shifted to painting revolving around the subject of urban landscapes colliding with the natural world. Brin's work can be seen in magazines and on album covers as well as gallery exhibitions in the Pacific northwest and California.

"The animal world and the human world have been decidedly separated by people. It's safer for us this way. But the animals are still here and now have to navigate the planet relative to human obstacles. My imagery often takes place at the point where the human and animal habitats overlap. Sometimes it's pushed a little farther one way or the other. I try to create imagery that is balanced on the edge of real and surreal, like a dream. I wonder what goes on in the subconscious mind of an urban coyote, raccoon, crow or mouse. What does their surreal imagery look like?

The next step in my art is to consider how the city is perceived by different minds and eyes. Graffiti crawls over the surfaces of the urban landscape the way ivy takes over the forest. In the world of my paintings a roaming buffalo may gather the ornaments of the city like a migrating whale collects barnacles. There are always new cracks in the pavement and new life sprouting out of them. Nature taking the urban landscape back is beautiful to me and is a hopeful vision." - Brin Levinson