Danielle Klebes

Artist Statement

The main subjects for my artwork are people who are in a state of flux. The figures in my paintings, captured in moments of uncertainty and isolation, are close in proximity but emotionally distant. They are positioned in liminal natural environments—the sun is setting or storms are approaching—with no clear entrance or exit pathway. There is a sense of the in- between without a clear narrative regarding what comes next. In my compositions, I highlight the often-disconnected relationship between the individual and the groups they belong to. I am interested in emotions generally associated with being alone including loneliness, feelings of isolation, and resignation, and how they relate to the individual experience within a group. I employ a cool, colorful, and unnatural palette to highlight disconnection and lack of intimacy. I take liberty in creating the environments for my figures, sometimes completely removing them, sometimes abstracting them, and sometimes adding surreal elements. The paintings are not specifically narrative, but they include pictorial clues to the experience of the subjects.

Artist Bio

Danielle Klebes has exhibited at galleries and museums in Istria, Croatia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Colorado, Vermont, and Florida. She is currently exhibiting in a two person show at the Susquehanna Art Museum in Harrisburg, PA, and in a solo show at Gallery 77 in Rutland, VT. She is currently artist in residence at MASS MoCA (from early November to early December, 2018), and will be an artist in residence at Vermont Studio Center for the month of March 2019, and at Lademoen Kunstnerverksteder in Trondheim, Norway, for the month of February 2020. Her work has been featured in numerous print and online publications including Creative Quarterly, Into the Void, Chaleur Magazine, Creative Boom, Supersonic Art, AT Journeys, and The Esthetic Apostle. Danielle received her MFA in Visual Arts from Lesley University College of Art and Design in Cambridge, MA, in 2017. She lives in North Adams, MA, with her husband Dalton James, a writer.