BY ERIN IKEUCHI
Danielle Mckinney suspends the domestic into the atmospheric. Her compositions begin with all-black canvases, as subjects reveal themselves in a wash of chiaroscuro. For Haven, the artist’s first solo show at Galerie Max Hetzler, Mckinney brings visual poetry to Berlin in a display of oil paintings and new watercolor works on paper.
Trained as a photographer, Mckinney cinematically captures moments of introspection. As her protagonists lounge leisurely on couches and read magazines, the aura of Haven extends beyond its frames. Drawing imagery from social media and vintage magazines, the artist summons a timeless quality in her intimate arrangements, as subjects revel in physical and psychic interiority.
At the heart of the show is its eponymous piece. The painting imagines a woman, clad in blankets, laying across a golden bed. As light peeks through the curtains, a painting of a unicorn softly glows behind her. Mining extraordinary imagery in ordinary places, the women of Haven find refuge in their sacred spaces.
Caught between the alluring and inviting, Mckinney renders the pleasures of private solitude. “I’m kind of putting myself into those spaces,” the artist notes in a gallery statement. “I just hope I leave them open enough for people to feel comfortable coming in.”
Haven is now on view at Galerie Max Hetzler through October 26, 2024.
