Doron Langberg Paints the Town Red at Victoria Miro

There’s something so freeing about Doron Langberg‘s paintings of bodies swaying and sweating to an unheard song.

Over the past year, the Israeli-American artist has been working on a series of paintings that narrate a night out that continues through the morning after.

Drawing from a queer perspective, Langberg paints friends and lovers coming together to dance, drink, and revel in a judgement-free space. Bodies blur into one another as they writhe beneath the rhythmic glow of pulsating lights.

The most illuminating work in the series is the large-scale painting Basement (2023). It captures the movement of a packed dance floor, where body and mind find release. Langberg’s warm palette, awash with fiery red and hot pink, imbue the work with palpable energy.

Discussing this series, Langberg said, ‘I wanted to explore the environments we create for ourselves where we’re most free to connect with one another. Depicting these scenes on a large scale with dense paint is my way of communicating how impactful these moments are for me.’

Langberg’s exhibition, Night, is on view at Victoria Miro in London until 28 March 2024.

Main image: Doron Langberg, Basement (2023). Oil on linen. Diptych, each panel 243.8 x 203.2 cm. © Doron Langberg. Courtesy Victoria Miro, London.