smoke the moon is proud to present Painting From Life, an exhibition of new oil paintings by Daniella Ben-Bassat. The exhibition marks the Providence-based multidisciplinary artist and musician’s first solo show in New Mexico, opening August 25 and running through October 1.
Drawing inspiration from spirituality, esotericism, psychedelic culture and trash, Daniella Ben-Bassat creates paintings that incorporate the surreal into the everyday. Her scenes exist in a liminal place between waking life and the dream world. Floating figures drift in and out of focus, celestial bodies appear. Ethereal moments are grounded by mundane objects such as an alarm clock, a magazine, a banana. A sense of humor underpins Ben-Bassat’s paintings–grounding otherworldly elements and imbuing them with both personal and symbolic depth. References to art history, pop culture and rock and roll mingle with the mystical. Daniella’s work reminds us that the sublime is present in our ordinary lives and vice versa.
Ben-Bassat’s signature loose, expressive style blurs the line between abstract expressionism and representational painting. Swathes of color and gestural brushstrokes dance across the canvas. Hidden objects and characters reveal themselves after careful contemplation. There is a beautiful chaos to Ben-Bassat’s paintings, which is simultaneously haphazard, transcendent and vulnerable. In an increasingly high-tech world, Daniella Ben Bassat’s paintings are distinctly human; invoking the grief, joy, absurdity and beauty of being alive.
Daniella Ben-Bassat graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2007, studying painting. The artist has long been immersed in the Providence DIY arts and music community, performing under several musical projects. In addition to painting, the artist creates sound sculptures out of found materials, lights, motors and electronic components. These moving dioramas generate droning overtones, which she then performs alongside on guitar. Similar to her paintings, these kinetic sculptures utilize everyday objects and repetitions to denaturalize conventional states of consciousness.
We invite you to join us for the opening reception for Painting From Life: new work by Daniella Ben-Bassat, which will be held on Friday, August 25, 2023 from 6:00 to 8:00pm.