Danielle McKinney's first solo museum exhibition in the United States, 'Danielle McKinney: Tell Me More,' has opened at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. The show features 13 intimately scaled paintings created between 2021 and 2025, depicting Black women in dimly lit domestic interiors—lounging, reading, or smoking—often nude or in robes, with saturated colors and cinematic compositions. McKinney, born in Montgomery, Alabama, and based in Jersey City, began her career as a photographer and earned an MFA from Parsons School of Design before turning to painting in 2020 during the pandemic. The exhibition is curated by Gannit Ankori, the museum's director and chief curator, and runs from August 20, 2025, to January 4, 2026.
This exhibition matters because it marks a significant milestone for McKinney, who has rapidly gained attention since shifting to painting just five years ago. Her work centers the interior lives of Black women with quiet dignity and psychological depth, challenging art historical traditions that have often excluded such perspectives. As the 2025 Ruth Ann and Nathan Perlmutter Artist-in-Residence at the Rose Art Museum, McKinney's debut solo museum show signals growing institutional recognition for her practice and highlights the museum's commitment to showcasing contemporary artists of color.