Dani Tull at Diane Rosenstein

In Hollywood, Dani Tull’s new exhibition of paintings mine the personal and the cosmic. In each work, thin lines of color grouped together in bands, which the artist calls “streams,” flow across the canvas in delicate arcs before trailing off in little tendrils. Within each band, the color shifts from earthy browns to hot pinks—some progressing in gentle gradients, while others feel more dissonant and sudden. 

Splashy washes or gentle atmospherics serve as backgrounds in which Tull’s streams nest and noodle around each other into an array of harmonious compositions. Each work, which includes four or five streams in various sizes, begins to feel like a kind of familial portrait (and a bit like a family, each one possesses a unique color, size, shape, yet all contribute to the overall order of the composition). Beneath the linear abstractions lie lines of text culled from poets, friends, loved ones, with Tull’s color choices also referring to specific family members and memories. Yet, the artist also seems to be reaching towards a larger universality that ultimately is ordered and balanced, despite rock paths and unexpected turns. Together, the paintings celebrate relationships and connectedness, both familial and cosmic.

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Photo: Dani Tull, “Heavy vase with peonies,” 2021. Courtesy of the artist and Diane Rosenstein Gallery. Photo by Robert Wedemeyer.