DANIELLE MCKINNEY

Early Years

Danielle Mckinney was born in 1981 in Montgomery, Alabama. Raised in the American South, she grew up surrounded by strong Black female figures—a recurring subject in her work. Her early interest in storytelling and observation led her to study photography at the Atlanta College of Art before receiving her MFA from Parsons School of Design in New York.

Mckinney later studied at the International Center of Photography and spent several years living in Pont-Aven, France. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she returned to painting as her primary medium, reigniting an early passion shaped by childhood drawing lessons. She currently lives and works in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Artworks

Mckinney’s artworks explore interiority and self-possession through solitary female figures, often depicted smoking, praying, lounging, or gazing outward with an arresting sense of presence. Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, she constructs rich, cinematic scenes rooted in symbolic colour, gesture, and stillness.

What themes define Danielle Mckinney’s work?

Mckinney’s paintings are deeply invested in the interior lives of Black women. Her subjects inhabit domestic, often ambiguous spaces—bedrooms, bathrooms, or shadowy corners—imbued with a dreamlike intensity. While peaceful on the surface, the works are psychologically complex, inviting viewers into moments of reflection, healing, or resistance.

The recurring presence of crosses, cigarettes, and windows suggests multiple readings, ranging from the spiritual to the existential. Mckinney has spoken about her Catholic upbringing and interest in mysticism, both of which inform her painterly language.

How did Mckinney transition from photography to painting?

Although originally trained as a photographer, Mckinney turned to painting during the lockdowns of 2020. The shift allowed her more imaginative freedom and a deeper ability to construct internal worlds. Her background in photography remains evident in her treatment of light and composition, often likened to cinematic stills or staged portraits.

Her breakout series, shown in exhibitions such as Smoke and Mirrors (2021) at Fortnight Institute, featured languorous women whose quiet strength and vivid presence drew immediate critical attention.

What is Mckinney’s preeminent series?

Danielle Mckinney’s most recognised and celebrated body of work is arguably the Smoke and Mirrors series (2021), exhibited at Fortnight Institute, New York. This series established her distinctive visual language, combining luminous, velvety backgrounds with solitary Black female figures engaged in acts of contemplation, ritual, or rest. The works from this series captured critical attention for their cinematic atmosphere, rich symbolism, and exploration of spiritual and psychological states, firmly positioning Mckinney as a significant voice in contemporary figurative painting.

Exhibitions

Danielle Mckinney has been the subject of both solo and group exhibitions at major institutions and galleries.

Solo Exhibitions

• Haven, Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin (2004)
• About a moment – in a moment, Kunsthal n, Copenhagen (2024)
• Quiet Storm, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York (2024)
• Fly on the Wall, Fondazione Re Rebaudengo, Turin (2024)
• Metamorphic, Night Gallery, Los Angeles (2023)
• Golden Hour, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York (2022)
• Saw My Shadow, Fortnight Institute, New York (2021)

Group Exhibitions

• Woman in a Rowboat, Olivia Foundation, Mexico City (2025)
• When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting, Centre for Fine Arts, Bozar, Brussels (2025)
• The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure, Philadelphia Museum of Art (2024)
• When We See Us, Kunstmuseum Basel (2024)
• Presence in the Pause: Interiority and its Radical Immanence, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha (2023)
• When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town (2022)
• Women Painting Women, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (2022)
• and I will wear you in my heart of heart, Flag Art Foundation, New York (2021)

Instagram

Danielle Mckinney’s Instagram can be found here.

Critical Reception

The artist’s practice has been widely featured in leading publications, including The New York Times, AnOther Magazine, and The Guardian.

Danielle Mckinney FAQs

Ocula | 2025