Elephant Magazine | Danielle Mckinney

BY CHARLOTTE JANSEN

A photographer before turning to painting (the only logical conclusion perhaps for someone who has ruminated so extensively on the way photographs are produced and used today), Danielle Mckinney has already garnered a lot of attention for paintings that strike right to the heart. What she took from studying photography is clear in her proclivity for the iconic image.  

No doubt two forthcoming solo exhibitions this spring will resonate widely. In New York, her newly opened Saw My Shadow at Fortnight Institute features paintings that explore themes of spirituality and the self, the inner life and the outer edges. They are not without humour: in one work, Face Mask with Prayer, a topless figure wearing sweatpants and a face mask poses on the bed, a depiction of Jesus on the wall behind her. Her exhibition at Night Gallery in Los Angeles will present an entirely different facet of her work as it highlights her own take on portraiture: look out for her outstanding self-portrait, Negroni. Its heady gaze and earthy hues won’t quickly leave you.