Danny Heller

Gallery Affiliations: George Billis Gallery

Region: Pacific Coast

Imagine driving through the sun-drenched landscape of the quiet suburbs. Without taking a second look, you pass by sea-foam green houses, classic muscle cars, swaying palm trees, and finely sculpted hedges. It looks like something from a mid-century tract housing brochure, but these are the scenes featured in my latest body of paintings chronicling the present-day suburbs of Southern California.

I paint the reality of suburbia: how the idea of safe, family oriented tract housing has been perpetuated and how it has decayed. This sets up a dialogue of what we value as a society and how those values both hold steadfast and transition. What characteristics of our lives do we try to hold on to and what do we let time claim? By focusing on the typical American suburb, I center this discussion on one of the most important elements of our lives: where we call home.