When it's in the middle of the day, and the moon is shining: Danny Gretscher

In this new exhibition, we see Gretscher continue to develop his large-scaled paintings with a unique combination of vivid colour, organic delicacy and semi-abstract symbolism creating an incredible story of lasting drama. When it's in the middle of the day, and the moon is shining, showcases big paintings alongside small-scale sketches, both bold and enchanting, replete with their own vocabulary, a constellation of symbols, characters, and allegories.

Gretscher's creative process is very intuitive. As the artists puts it:

At times I am visited by impulses from the depth of the universe that occur to me as emotions. I give a colourful garment to these sensations. Sometimes drawing a few lines is enough to make them all of a sudden visible.

As one pattern leads to another, the artist goes with the flow and sees where it leads him, operating in-between figuration and abstraction. Incorporating vibrant colours and a variety of mediums, such as acrylics, spray-paints, pencil and oil pastels, Gretscher creates a dream-like spaces with an ambiguous, ever-developing dialogues within them. From one angle tantalisingly mysterious conversations, from the next, completely identifiable to the human story. Even the literal titles keep reflecting new interpretation.

Some pieces appear to be more abstract than others. For example, in Stars Shine there’s a fragmented and faceless silhouette of a rider seated on top of a mythical horse, as if pulled straight out of a merry-go-round, brimming with a sense of magical nostalgia, while paintings like The Light You Chose largely consist of irregular geometrical shapes of bright cheerful colours. The reoccurring palette of candy-like pastels together with the imperfect and intuitive marks charge Gretscher’s works with a quaint and child-like quality that immediately captures the viewers’ attention, leading them to linger, indulge and find all the hidden words, numbers and symbols within them.

Whether it’s large abstract multiple-panel pieces or small pastel-on-paper sketches, there’s something tangible and ethereal contained within each of Gretscher’s works – overflowing their boarders and filling the real world with their infectious whimsical positivity.

When it's in the middle of the day, and the moon is shining, will open on Thursday 2^nd November, 6-8pm, at 65 great Portland Street, London, W1W 7LW, and continue until 25^th November 2023. To register your interest, email info@rhodescontemporaryart.com