DFN Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new works by Clare Kirkconnell. In these paintings Kirkconnell explores the expansive beauty of the natural world, evoking the monumental American landscapes of the Hudson River School.  Unlike painters such as Frederic Church and Thomas Cole, who focused on the rivers and mountains of the East Coast, Kirkconnell draws her inspiration from the big skies and wide valleys of Northern California.  

Most of the space and energy of Kirkconnell’s paintings is devoted to the sky.  Works like Pink Smoke and Smoke I have just the faintest hint of tree line at the bottom edge of the canvas.  In the remainder of the space, Kirkconnell delves into the dynamics of atmospheric phenomena like smoke from forest fires (Fire and Smoke) and fog (Fog and Lights). Here she reveals only a hint of human presence - the smoke rising above the treetops suggesting homes that may be burning.  In her nighttime landscapes, such as Lights with Indigo Sky and Lights with Midnight Sky, the illuminated valleys seem as if the stars have fallen to Earth.

Born in Brownsville, Texas, Clare Kirkconnell attended Santa Monica College, in Santa Monica, California, and Otis College of Art and Design, in Los Angeles.  Kirkconnell is also represented by John Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco, and her work can be found in numerous private collections, including the collection of the American Embassy in Kuwait.  This is her second one-person show at DFN Gallery.