The seductive paintings of Danielle Frankenthal—four thumbs up, rosettes (and knives and forks) actually.

– David Anfam

Moving from opaqueness to transparency, painterly density to linear spontaneity, Frankenthal transforms a finite surface into an infinite horizon.

– Donald Kuspit

Like real clouds, Frankenthal’s clustered brush marks are constantly shapeshifting…endlessly engaging.

– Lilly Wei

Danielle Frankenthal is celebrated for her pioneering approach of using acrylic panels layered with various paint techniques. Over three decades, she has developed an innovative visual language that merges physical and illusionistic space. Her multidimensional works evoke ephemeral landscapes and atmospheric nuances, brought to life through dynamic brushwork, pearlescent grounds, and gilded details.

The exhibition showcases Frankenthal’s Gardens and Clouds series, which transforms traditional ideas of depth and perspective into fluid, kaleidoscopic compositions that shift as the viewer moves. Her unique method makes light an active participant in her creations, dissolving boundaries between abstraction and representation. According to Lilly Wei, “Light has top billing in Danielle Frankenthal’s improbably radiant paintings, while color and its incessant fluctuations are given critical supporting roles.” 

Frankenthal’s work connects with a lineage of trailblazing female abstract painters such as Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, and Lee Krasner, who also revolutionized the interplay between form, emotion, and abstraction. Yet, Frankenthal’s work stands apart by directly engaging with light as a medium, building on Paul Cézanne’s assertion that light must be represented through color while extending its physical presence to evolve with the viewer’s perception. 

Playing with Light underscores Frankenthal’s singular ability to harness the transient beauty of light and color, making her one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary abstraction. As Wei notes, “Frankenthal’s works are an invitation to step into a world of impermanence and possibility, where perception itself is as fluid and layered as her compositions.”