Danielle Mckinney: Second Wind | Galerie Max Hetzler
I’d first seen (and loved) Danielle Mckinney’s paintings when she showed in New York last year. Before I’d even heard of the buzz phrase “quiet luxury”. A phrase which her works - almost always showing a woman in a well-appointed interior in a state of repose - exemplify.
Stillness and silence abound in the galleries - both at Marianne Boesky in New York last spring and at Max Hetzler in London right now. It’s Mckinney’s first UK show. Then as now, the walls are a refreshing shade of violet and the lights are low, giving the effect of the paintings being backlit.
Soliloquy (2025)
Then as now, Mckinney’s women wear bright nail polish and smoke cigarettes, all the better for the clever painter to pick out oranges and reds on her brown and black backgrounds. Then as now, there’s a representation of a Matisse painting in the background of certain works - though it was The Dance in New York and Blue Nude this time around.
The sense of luxury is enhanced both by what’s being depicted (the interiors, with their wood panelling, pillows and lamps, seem palatial) and by the materials of the paintings themselves. They have a glossy, shiny glow, reflecting the gallery spotlights.
Apex (2025)
Along with Matisse, Mckinney sites Édouard Vuillard and Walter Sickert as influences - though these artists liked to focus on the demimonde, and Mckinney’s focus is on the (ostensibly) wealthy.
Compared to what I saw last year, the artist’s paint strokes are slightly looser and more impressionistic - a kind of painterly free jazz. But the subject matter remains formidably tight. And the overall work is as luxuriously enjoyable as ever.
Danielle Mckinney: Second Wind is at Galerie Max Hetzler (London). 18 September - 01 November 2025