Danielle Fretwell’s work is visually seductive, conceptually layered, and technically refined. Hyperreal detail is juxtaposed against gestural veils of color and texture. There is a rich materiality in her use of actual fabrics pressed into wet paint, creating imprints that blur the line between image and object. Her striking canvases are particularly resonant as they encourage viewers to confront visual uncertainty, mirroring the illusory nature of contemporary reality in the digital age.
Whitewall spoke with the young American artist at NADA in Manhattan, where a solo presentation with London gallery Alice Amati marked her standout New York Art Week debut. NADA was a success: The New Hampshire-based artist’s paintings were completely sold out within the fair’s first hour. Fretwell shared with Whitewall how her work mediates the tension between illusion and materiality, demonstrating the manner in which painting can both obscure and reveal in an age of filtered perception.
Portrait courtesy of Danielle Fretwell.
Danielle Fretwell, “Between Need and Gift,” 2025, oil on canvas, 60 x 36 in; Courtesy of the artist and Alice Amati, London.
WHITEWALL: Your work navigates the space between traditional memetic painting and automatic processes. How do you balance these approaches in your practice?
DANIELLE FRETWELL: It’s definitely a balancing act, and I think that tension is central to what I’m doing. On one hand, I’m drawn to this very controlled, representational style of painting with a sense of precision. But I also find it important to force myself to let go a bit, allowing something automatic or unpredictable to happen. So the process starts with a carefully painted still-life, but then I’ll cover parts of it up with several layers of thinned paint, hiding anything that exists beneath. That disruption of the image is important—it breaks the viewer’s access and brings the painting into a more unstable space.
Danielle Fretwell on Perception and Process
Danielle Fretwell, “The Spectators,” 2025, Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in, 50.8 x 61 cm; Courtesy of the artist and Alice Amati, London.
WW: The concept of ‘veils’ is central to your work, serving as deliberate obstructions that challenge viewer perception. Can you elaborate on how these veils function within your pieces?
DF: The veils are a big part of how I think about the work. Sometimes they’re literal—layers of paint and texture that cover parts of the image. Other times they are metaphorical—a lack of pictorial light or the positioning of objects just beyond reach or from clear view. Regardless of their form, they serve as a commentary on how information is mediated in contemporary culture—how much of what we see is curated and filtered to meet our own interests. By using fabric—both as a subject and a tool—I reinforce this idea of selective visibility. There’s always something between us and what we’re trying to understand. Flowing between prevention and invitation, I ask viewers to look more closely and question what’s being hidden and why.
“By using fabric—both as a subject and a tool—I reinforce this idea of selective visibility,”
Danielle Fretwell
WW: You draw inspiration from 17th-century still-life painting, particularly in how objects are suspended in time to make their vanity permanent. How does this historical reference inform your practice?
DF: I’ve always been fascinated by the theatricality and seduction in those paintings. Old Masters took ordinary objects and imbued them with so much symbolic weight. There’s also this weird tension between beauty and decay that forces a sort of moral critique. I started painting dead fish to capture both of those things, and to toy around with our own fascination with the grotesque. I’m especially interested in presenting objects in their most alluring form—polished, idealized, composed—but with the undertone of mortality and deceit.
WW: Your work explores themes of deception and truth in a media-saturated world. How do you see your art engaging with the viewer’s perception of reality?
DF: In a world where we’re constantly confronted with information—curated, manipulated, or algorithmically fed—I see painting as a space for slow looking and critical engagement. My work doesn’t offer clear answers, instead, it invites doubt and prolonged observation. I encourage viewers to question not only what they’re seeing, but how they’re seeing.
“I encourage viewers to question not only what they’re seeing, but how they’re seeing,”
Danielle Fretwell
The aim is to cultivate a form of visual skepticism—one that reflects the kind of discernment we need to navigate the broader media-saturated world.
The Transformative Techniques of Danielle Fretwell
Installation view of Danielle Fretwell, NADA New York 2025 | Booth A107, Alice Amati, London, Photo by Gabriele Abbruzzese.
WW: Your technique involves layering thinned paint over a rendered still-life and then pressing materials like bed sheets or foam into the paint. What led you to develop this method, and what does it achieve in terms of texture and meaning?
DF: That process of using absorbent materials came about in grad school when I took a class in printmaking. I was interested in the way that a material can leave behind a trace, proving that it was once there and now forever inscribed on the surface. It then grew into the form of a veil and a way for me to physically intervene with the rendered still-life—deciding what gets covered and what remains visible.
WW: The use of actual fabric to create the illusion of fabric introduces a nuanced irony. How do you see this interplay between material and representation affecting the viewer’s experience?
DF: Yeah, that irony is something I really lean into. I’m using real fabric to create the illusion of fabric—it’s this loop where the material is both the thing and the representation of the thing. I like that complication. It makes people stop and ask, “Wait, is that painted? How is this made?” That moment of hesitation is important to the work as it furthers the narrative of uncertainty.
“That moment of hesitation is important to the work as it furthers the narrative of uncertainty,”
Danielle Fretwell
WW: You incorporate intricately painted details, such as stitches and seams, into abstract areas, resulting in trompe l’oeil effects. How do these elements contribute to the tension between abstraction and realism in your work?
DF: Those little details are like anchors for the viewer. When areas in a painting get too abstract or unnamable, I’ll introduce painted stitch-work or a seam that’s super precise. It pulls you back into the illusion, reminds you that there’s a hand behind it. I like that push and pull—between something that feels chaotic or unclear and something that’s incredibly intentional.
The Evolution of Danielle Fretwell’s Practice
Danielle Fretwell, “Opening Hours,” 2025. 40 x 30 in, oil on canvas; Courtesy of the artist and Alice Amati, London.
Portrait courtesy of Danielle Fretwell.
WW: How do you envision the evolution of your work in response to the ongoing discourse around truth and perception in contemporary society?
DF: I think the question of what’s real—or what’s trustworthy—is only getting murkier. The potential of AI to generate text, images, and videos is simultaneously marvelous and terrifying. Things are advancing so fast that it’s impossible to predict what’s next or what the future will look like, but I want to continue to make paintings that reflect how layered and unstable reality has become. I hope my work continues to offer space for viewers to navigate this uncertainty as we advance through time.
Danielle Fretwell’s next show opens in October at Alice Amati in London.
