JUNE 15 - AUGUST 3, 2022

Opening Reception with the Artist
Wednesday, June 15, 6 – 8 PM

SOCO Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Love That For Me, a solo exhibition by artist Ariel Dannielle. The gallery will host a public opening reception with the artist on June 15th from 6 - 8 PM. This will be the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.

Love That For Me will present a new large scale painting by Danielle alongside a number of smaller scale paintings. Focusing on joy, the exhibition presents a visual diary and snapshot of her experiences in Atlanta with her friends and family. The artist develops personal narratives within her portraits that challenge gender and racial stereotypes. Danielle provides a new lens through which black womanhood can be represented, understood, and related to. By placing herself in her paintings she opens a door to welcome viewers to participate in a process of introspection.

Similar to the work, the title, Love That For Me, alludes to her subtle act of resistance – doing things for herself, empowering her agency. The paintings are self-reflective and vulnerable, filled with energy and excitement.

In “Me and My Two Friends”, the artist can be seen getting dressed, putting makeup on and prepping for an evening out with her friends. “Fresh Set” focuses on her current love of nail art and of “Sailor Moon” – the 90’s Japanese anime show that frequently influences her style and work.

The artist notes that the work is "expressive with hints of realism” and “consisting of bright and saturated colors featuring figures, everyday objects, and scenery. I thrive off of others I can relate to, so I decided to make work about my life so people like me could not only feel included but also celebrated. I felt there was a lack of art specifically depicting black joy and modern-day black womanhood so that has been one of my main inspirations in my portraits since the beginning of my career."

ARIEL DANNIELLE (American)

Ariel Dannielle is an African American painter born and raised in Atlanta, GA. She graduated from the University of West Georgia, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Drawing directly from her life, Ariel creates large scale paintings that depict the daily experiences of young Black women. She believes in the importance of her artwork to provide new lenses through which Black womanhood can be represented, understood, and related to.

Dannielle’s work has been showcased at Monique Meloche Gallery, California African American Museum, Mint ATL, The Goat Farm, ZuCot Gallery, Dalton Gallery, Trio Contemporary Art Gallery, and Perez Museum Miami. She was a MOCA Ga Working Artist Fellow of 2019-20 and was a semi-finalist in the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series 2018, an Artadia 2018 finalist, and has been featured in The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Studio Museum Magazine, The Atlanta Magazine, Sorjo Magazine, mentioned in The New York Times, and featured on the cover of the CAAM summer catalog 2019.