The New Orleans Museum of Art is about to add another reason to fall in love with City Park this fall. On November 6, NOMA opens “Danielle Mckinney: Shelter,” the largest and most comprehensive museum exhibition to date devoted to the acclaimed contemporary painter, on view through August 15, 2027.
The exhibition brings together more than 40 paintings and works on paper spanning the last six years of McKinney’s practice, tracing her remarkable rise and her gift for turning quiet, private moments into unforgettable images. Born in 1981, McKinney paints women caught in moments of solitude — reading, resting, daydreaming — in familiar domestic scenes that glow with a subtle, nostalgic warmth.
Her figures emerge from rich, dark backgrounds, a nod to centuries of art history, while her compositions playfully hide paintings within paintings, winking at modern masters like Matisse and Picasso. The result is tender, magnetic work that invites viewers to slow down and savor stillness.
McKinney was recently named to the TIME100 inaugural Art class, honoring the leaders shaping the future of the field. “Shelter” is organized by the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach as part of its celebrated series championing art by women, and New Orleans gets to experience this landmark presentation this fall.
Photo: New Orleans Museum of Art
