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Dan Witz DFN Gallery is pleased to present Night Paintings, new work by Dan Witz. Featured in this exhibition is a series of iconic paintings of delis and convenience stores in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. Witz captures these bodegas at night in the rain, creating an aura of mystery and isolation. Witz’s evocative nocturnes transform their banal subjects into extraordinary beacons – the lighthouses of the urban landscape. Inspired in equal parts by Ed Ruscha’s gas stations and the chiaroscuro paintings of Joseph Wright of Derby, these works also recall early Western religious art in which physical light is a metaphor for spiritual revelation and enlightenment. Paintings such as 24 Hour Deli and Manny’s Liquor depict corner stores nearly engulfed by darkness. The rich blackness of the night emphasizes the glow that appears to emanate from within. In PA Grocery and Tropical Products, the rain-drenched streets and sidewalks in front of the stores reflect the neon glare of signs advertising “fresh meats” and “cold beer.” Witz is drawn to these ordinary places that provide sustenance in both a physical and metaphysical sense. Witz’s paintings combine Old Master glazing techniques with 21st century digital technology. Beginning with a digital print as an underpainting, Witz covers most of the surface with layers of oil paint to regenerate the artificial light and quiet mood in and around the stores, while leaving the storefront lettering alone. The resulting image captures the scene in a way that neither a photograph nor a painting could on its own. As Witz explains: I am
concerned with exploring what oil paint on canvas can uniquely do Dan Witz was born in Chicago in 1957. He studied at Rhode Island School of Design and Skowhegan, and graduated from Cooper Union School of Art in 1980. Witz has been a National Endowment of the Arts grant recipient, and has twice received fellowships from The New York Foundation of the Arts. For more images, please click here. |
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