American painter David Korty is known for his phosphorescent depictions of his hometown of Los Angeles. Working in watercolour, pencil and acrylic, on paper or canvas, Korty’s evocative studies of the illuminated Hollywood hills at night, the mist-obscured high-rises of Downtown, people on the subway, at the beach or in Griffith Park employ a chromatic exaggeration of architectural and atmospheric space. More related to the paintings of Turner or Seurat than to romantic imagined landscape paintings, Korty employs abstraction only as a tool for precise representation. The key is the artist’s real-time experience of the depicted environment and his communication of that optical reality – these are landscapes he has inhabited, photographed, enjoyed.
Like his recent show in New York, Korty’s first solo London exhibition reflects the local environment. Working from photographic records, the imagery includes scenes from a recent visit to London such as the Underground and a motorway in the rain, alongside paintings of the unique urban topography of Los Angeles.
David Korty lives and works in Los Angeles. His work was included in the Gallery Swap with China Art Objects at Sadie Coles HQ in 1999.
For further information please contact the gallery at +44 (0)20 7493 8611 or press@sadiecoles.com