Daniel McClain: Lost and Found

Transmission Gallery is pleased to present _**Lost and Found,**_ a solo exhibition comprised of recent paintings and framed drawings by **Daniel McClain**. The exquisite technical process at play in McClain's paintings is elusive at first. With their striking imagery, bold planes and graphic color, they initially suggest collages assembled from found images, fragments, and printed material. Only after spending time with them does it become clear that every element has been re-created by hand. What appears to be a collage is, in fact, a meticulous replication of one. A strip of masking tape turns out to be paint. A penciled note is drawn in graphite. A battered corner is painted. Printed text is hand-drawn graphite as well. At this point the scope of the work begins to become apparent. Every element has been carefully considered. Creases, worn edges, and the faint shadows separating one sheet of paper from another receive the same attention as an ocean, an illustration, or a section of chalkboard. By granting each part equal attention, McClain transforms copies into objects with their own independent presence. This transformation is ultimately the point. Replication is not the subject of these paintings but their method, bringing images from different histories, disciplines, and moments into direct conversation. Each element alters the meaning of the others, creating relationships that could not exist without this painstaking act of reconstruction. ​An example is the recurring figure of Pinocchio. More than a literary reference, Pinocchio becomes real not by perfectly imitating a human being, but by accumulating experience, making mistakes, and developing judgment. In this sense, he serves as a metaphor for the paintings themselves. They begin as copies, but they do not remain copies. Through the process of their making and the experience of looking, they become something else. Familiarity with art history, literature, and broader questions of reality and mystery enriches the experience, revealing subtle connections within each painting. Yet no specialized knowledge is required; simply following the rhythms of color, shape, and line offers rewards of its own. Four framed graphite drawings on found paper accompany the paintings referencing the work of artists Marcel du Champ, Werner Herzog, and William de Kooning as well as Patti Smith. Beautifully executed, they extend the exhibition's exploration of perception, felt experience and the transformation of familiar objects.