The Cut Review of "A Little Louder, Love"

Danielle Orchard paints what she knows. She places the subjects of her paintings in scenes she experiences every day: a woman painting in her studio, another sharing a bottle of wine and a pack of cigarettes with a friend, someone who just needs some time alone to herself with a smoke and an avocado.

Born in Michigan City, Indiana, Orchard, 32, now lives and works in Brooklyn. Her first solo show, opening on Thursday at Jack Hanley Gallery on the Lower East Side, depicts the intimate moments shared between friends and partners. The title of the show, A Little Louder, Love, comes from the 1950s New York City singer-songwriter Connie Converse, who often explored similar subjects in her songs, and whose work was like a window into the artist’s life.

The works on display are bright with color and action, complete and familiar scenes the viewer can almost step into. Rejection Season, Muses, and November 9 could all be scenes from any Brooklyn apartment shared by two young roommates who are hanging out after a long day of work, sharing a bottle of wine and either sitting at the dinner table, lounging on a bed, or relaxing in the tub, while debriefing on their days.

Orchard’s style of cubism evokes the work of Pablo Picasso, but her vivid colors recall the effervescence of Henri Matisse’s canvases. According to the show’s press release, this can be attributed to Orchard’s style of painting, which involves an “opaque application of paint and fauvist levels of saturation,” giving the works their inviting essence.

“Danielle Orchard: A Little Louder, Love” opens at Jack Hanley Gallery on February 8 and runs through March 11.