Danny Heller
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Artist Statement
I paint the reality of the Southern California environment: how structures once revered for their groundbreaking ideas in design and social planning have been perpetuated and how they have been forgotten.
Primarily focusing on the area's mid-century identity, I play with lighting, dramatic angles, and specific colors to form engaging paintings that also capture architectural elements. I use a realistic style to paint those moments where design and environment come together harmoniously in order to showcase the compelling
characteristics of these spaces. In some ways, I act as a type of documentarian of an endangered architectural culture in California. However, these paintings are a bit more personal, as they tend to focus on locations from my childhood or at least slices of an era recounted to me from my parents' and grandparents' times.
By painting these historically and personally significant scenes, I hope to reconnect with a presumably by-gone time period whose remnants actually still exist. Because especially in Los Angeles, where the past is demolished to make way for the brand new, we are at risk of losing our cultural history. Without which, we leave ourselves devoid of a foundation to build our future on.
Bio
Danny Heller was born in Northridge, CA in 1982. Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, the artist was able to carefully study the golden landscape of Los Angeles which would shape his later body of work. For formal art instruction, Danny left the Valley for the College of Creative Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. While studying under landscape painter Hank Pitcher, Danny earned a B.A. in art with an emphasis in painting. After formative years spent capturing Santa Barbara's surf landscapes, Danny's attention turned toward retro iconography characteristic of mid-century Los Angeles. Having set up his studio in Silver Lake, the artist now concentrates on chronicling Modern American imagery, specifically focusing on the architecture, design, and car culture found in Southern California.
Danny Heller's paintings have been exhibited in solo and group shows throughout the world, from Miami to Los Angeles, and most recently in Paris, France. The variety of collectors who have sought out his work are a testament to the artist's success. Some have purchased work featuring familiar locations, while others collect purely for the artwork's inherent formal qualities.
Selected Exhibitions
2012 Cityscape Show, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"The New Real," Tinney Contemporary, Nashville, TN
TRASHed Coachella art collaboration, Coachella Music Festival, Coachella, CA
2011 Red Dot Art Fair, George Billis Gallery booth, Miami, FL
La Luz de Jesus 25 Part 2 group show, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"The LAX Series" solo show, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"The Cityscape Exhibition" group show, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"Modernism Revisited" solo show, Fullerton Museum, Fullerton, CA
"Perspective: A Group Show," George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"Art Auction and Exhibition 14," Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
Venice Art Walk and Auction, Venice, CA
Washington Project for the Arts Art Auction, WPA, Washington D.C.
Palm Springs Exhibition, TRIO, Palm Springs, CA
2010 2010 Metro Neighborhoods Poster Contest winner, Metro Transit Authority Los Angeles
Foundation Colas 2010 Acquisitions, Foundation Colas, Boulogne-Billancourt, France
"A History of Flight" group show, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
"As They See It" group show, 941 Geary gallery, San Francisco, CA
Collector's Circle Acquisitions 1994-2010, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
Venice Art Walk & Auction, Venice, CA
"Palm Springs Exhibition" solo show, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Palm Springs, CA
2009 "Los Angeles Currents" Group Show, Couturier Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"Art Auction and Exhibition 13," featured artist, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
Denver Modernism Show, jurored group show, Denver, CO
"Open Call '09" Group Show, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Art Auction, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA
Venice Art Walk & Auction, Venice, CA
"Everything But The Kitschen Sync," La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
L.A. Art Show 2009, LACMA's Art Rental & Sales Gallery booth, Los Angeles, CA
"Size Doesn't Matter" Group Show, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
2008 15th Annual Realism Invitational, Klaudia Marr Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Denver Modernism Show, jurored group show, Denver, CO
"Eichlers: A Modern Vision" solo show, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
Wet Paint Invitational, Art Museum Council of LACMA, Roxbury Park, Beverly Hills, CA
Venice Art Walk & Auction, Venice, CA
"Everything But The Kitschen Sync," La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
L.A. Art Show 2008, LACMA's Art Rental & Sales Gallery booth, Santa Monica, CA
2007 "JCMAS," The Conference Room, Los Angeles, CA
"Art Auction and Exhibition 12," Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
Art Santa Fe 2007, Billy Shire Fine Arts booth, Santa Fe, NM
"Suburbia" solo show, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
"L.A. Visions," Art Rental & Sales Gallery at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, L.A., CA
"Kim Maria LaRotunda Benefit Auction," La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Bridge Art Fair 2007, Billy Shire Fine Arts booth, Chicago, IL
"Art/House 2007," Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA
"Everything But The Kitschen Sync," La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Art Basel, Billy Shire Fine Arts booth, Miami, FL
Group show, La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"Locked In Place," Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA
Salon-style show, Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA
"Everything But The Kitschen Sync," La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005 "Eyes On LA," Judith Kaufman Gallery, North Hollywood, CA
"Make Shift," The Redwood Building, San Diego,CA