DFN Gallery is pleased to present Riverine, an exhibition of new acrylic paintings by Tim Daly.  Focusing his vision on the area between the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers, Daly depicts the convergence of highways, marshland, and industry in New Jersey, known as the Meadowlands.  Often these paintings tell a story of areas in transition due to development or decay, and their relationship to larger ecosystems and urban areas.  These landscapes are abruptly altered by the demands of commerce, and then slowly reclaimed by the elements.

Daly photographs unusual views and suggestive locations and then pieces the scenes together in his studio.  Using glazing techniques to create light and atmospheric color, the paintings approach photographic reality.  In Untitled (East of Snake Hill), Daly seamlessly integrates the beauty of fading light on a delta and the catenary system of the local rail line.  Flooded tire tracks reflect soft orange and violet light, leading the eye to electric posts standing like sentinels.  In Westbound, Pulaski Skyway, Evening, a cadmium yellow-tinted cloud floats over the bridge of the Pulaski Skyway, obscuring the last light of day.  In Wittpenn Bridge with Waxing Moon, the rust colored span stands regally erect amid a backdrop of perfect cerulean sky.  The Hackensack River is depicted by day in a pastoral scene of local fishermen crabbing as the sun begins to set in Switch House with Sun Dog.  An ominous crack in an embankment leads to the eerily lit Hackensack Switch House, Night.  Daly’s attention to natural and artificial light infuses each of his works with tension and psychological weight.

Daly has devoted his vision to depicting this ever-changing landscape of northern New Jersey, often capturing buildings or views before they are forever lost.  In an interview with Holly Metz for the Hoboken Historical Museum, Daly spoke briefly about the “…battle that just continues, between developers and people who want to keep it the way it is or remediate it.”  He goes on to note the importance of the Meadowlands as “a major home on the eastern seaboard flyway for migratory birds, and … a sponge that soaks up floodwaters.”  The significance and unusual attraction of this landscape becomes apparent when viewing his exceptional paintings.

Tim Daly was born in Jersey City, and has shown extensively in New York and New Jersey, including shows at the Morris Museum, the Hoboken Historical Museum, the Newark Museum and the Jersey City Museum.  His work is in many public and private collections including Rutgers University, the U.S. State Department, and Prudential Insurance.  Daly recently completed a commission of thirty-two mural paintings for the Secaucus Transfer Station in Secaucus, New Jersey.