April 2008                                                                         FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

D.J. Hall: Full Circle
Exhibition Dates: May 31 – July 12, 2008
Reception for the Artist: Saturday, May 31 - Culver City Artwalk 12:00 – 8:00 pm
Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday: 10:00 am – 5:30 pm; Saturday: 11:00 am – 5:30 pm
Public Contact: 310-836-9055

Koplin Del Rio is pleased to present an exhibition of new works by Southern California artist D.J. Hall.

The exhibition, titled, Full Circle, is a reflection on a successful and acclaimed career as a leading representational painter. The show is timed to coincide with and celebrate the opening of a comprehensive D.J Hall 35 Year Retrospective at the Palm Springs Art Museum.

This new body of work showcases Hall’s signature style of painting featuring a rotating cast of beautiful women in sun drenched outdoor scenes and masterful drawings. Prior to painting, Hall costumes, stages and photographs her subjects in an almost cinematic process, ultimately editing bits and pieces of the source material into a finished painting. Each painting is executed with brilliant coloration and an uncanny sensitivity to detail, the finished compositions are drawn from various real and imagined sources. Certain autobiographical elements add a narrative depth to the series. 

While the unique brilliance of her technique has remained constant, an interesting shift in the artists’ perspective has emerged in the paintings of the last few years.  D.J. Hall’s earlier work presented an objective, almost critical commentary on aging, beauty and appearance. As a recent graduate in her twenties her earliest paintings of middle-aged women were surface observations; coolly executed with an exaggerated emphasis on the physical and social aging process. This new work goes deeper beneath the skin, revealing new layers of the human condition rendered with a certain wistful and tender quality. Having arrived, herself at the age of her earliest models, Hall’s work now reflects the depth of experience she shares with her subjects, capturing a sensitive empathy.

D.J. Hall was born in Los Angeles, California.  A third-generation Californian, she brings a unique perspective to her portrayals of California life.  Since earning her BFA from USC in 1973, she has devoted herself to painting full-time ever since.  Her work is in numerous public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  She has exhibited in group shows around the world, and has held solo shows in New York and Los Angeles almost every year since graduation from USC.  She taught Life Drawing and is currently mentoring MFA Program students at the Laguna College of Art and Design.  Full Circle is her fifth solo exhibition with Koplin Del Rio Gallery.

For further information or photos, please contact Ronald De Angelis at (310) 836-9055.