The Pit is pleased to present SLOW BURNERS, a solo exhibition by Los Angeles based artist Dani Tull. The exhibition will run from April 28- June 8 with a public reception from 4-7 pm on Sunday April 28, 2019. On view in The Pit II gallery will be a several new encaustic wax paintings as well as a selection of lantern sculptures. 

Over the past decade, Tull has produced bodies of work that navigate the interceding territories of aesthetic formalism and mysticism. For SLOW BURNERS, Tull has produced paintings that are carved in wax and encrusted with layers of paint. His choice of materials carries inherent symbolism, the wax used was collected and reutilized from a variety of sources including birthday candles, memorial and ceremonial candles, relaxation candles burned at home, casting-wax burned out from the art processes of works made by artist friends as well as collected used children’s crayons. The resulting melded material is inherently sentimental, carrying the poignancy of life, death and transformation. The carved surfaces negotiate a tension between organized pattern and organic chaos. These surfaces become a resonating ground for allegorical narrative. 

SLOW BURNERS also incorporates an ongoing series of functioning lanterns whose forms are unrefined, raw and unmistakably made by hand. Each unique lantern is emotive, conveying ephemeral aspects of the human condition. The lanterns bulbs and wires harnessing an electric current can be seen as a representation of the human body and states of human consciousness. Suspended from the ceiling and positioned on the floor, the lanterns spill and cast light of overlapping color. The grouping includes two recent lanterns made in collaboration with the renowned, historical Judson Studio located in Los Angeles, using innovative fused-glass techniques. 

Dani Tull (b.1966) lives and works in Los Angeles, California. He received his MFA from Stanford University in 1990 and a BFA from The San Francisco Art Institute in 1984. Tull has exhibited extensively in galleries and museums internationally with selected solo exhibitions including Blum and Poe (LA), Jack Hanley Gallery (SF), The Pit (LA), Kim Light Gallery (LA), Fredericks & Freiser (NY) Torch Gallery (Amsterdam). Recent exhibitions include On Stellar Rays (NY), Jacob Lewis Gallery (NY) and LAM Gallery (LA). Tull’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Artforum, Art in America, I.D. Magazine, Wallpaper and Frieze amongst others. Tull is also an accomplished musician and has collaborated with a variety of internationally recognized artists such as Jim Shaw, Raymond Pettibon and Marnie Weber. Permanent collections include The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Getty, The Laguna Art Museum and The Peter Norton Family Collection. Tull was cited by Ed Ruscha for a feature in Wallpaper* Magazine, “LA’s brightest new talent and truest voices.” As an accomplished musician and composer he has recorded and performed with a great variety of musicians. Recent musical projects include solo performances for SASSAS, West Of Rome and LAFMS. Dani Tull is also a member or D’red D’warf, a band project with artist Jim Shaw.