Danny Sobor (b. 1992) is a self-taught oil painter born in Chicago. He received a B.F.A. in cognitive aesthetics from Brown University in 2015. Spending most of his adult-life in Detroit, his exposure to techno and vacancy shaped his belief in futurism. This is his first solo show in New York.

Previous exhibitions include 10 Warm Months, Playground Detroit, Detroit, Michigan; Ultra Light Beams, Mount Analogue Gallery, Seattle, Washington; The Printer’s Devil, The Scarab Club, Detroit, Michigan; Joined/Fading, Galerie F, Chicago, Illinois; The Korean Contemporary Printmakers Association Annual Exhibition, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea. Butterfly Effect, Tchotchke Galley, New York, New York.

In this presentation of eight new works at Tchotchke Galley, Sobor explores anxieties about technology and faith, in terms of what is true through media consumption and how painting can meaningfully engage with that in 2023. With an emphasis on thematic absurdity, paired with a sardonic approach to visual culture, Sobor works through his convictions and doubts with a devoted, labor-intensive methodology. In creating these works, Sobor became fanatically committed to the process and often crossed over into what he referred to as “a trance,” frequently kneeling for hours over countless days in their creation.

Informing Sobor’s theological imagery and approach, old archetypal symbols such as angels and doves are rendered as flat white stock vectors, signifiers made vacant. According to the artist, “I’m trying to express ideological culture wars by schizophrenically mashing signifiers until a piece feels like it articulates my confusion and frustration. The pieces aren’t non-committal as much as they are doubtful and searching.”

Icons by Danny Sobor will be on view from February 14th, 2023 through March 18th, 2023 at Tchotchke Gallery, located at 311 Graham Avenue. The opening reception for the exhibition will be held from 6-8pm on Tuesday, February 14th.

Danny Sobor swans II, 2022 Oil on canvas 42 x 26 inches

Danny Sobor, painting for world peace, 2022. Oil on canvas, 40 x 48 inches

Danny Sobor, peacekeeper, 2022, Oil on canvas, 62 x 40 inches