NICK MCPHAIL
In Praise of Shadows
November 6 – December 23, 2026
Reynolds Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of In Praise of Shadows, exhibition of new work by Nick McPhail. Marking the artist’s second solo show with the gallery, the exhibition opens on Friday, November 6, 2026 with a public reception from 5 – 7 pm. The show runs through December 23rd .
McPhail’s work looks closely at the relationship between place, perception, and memory. The starting point for this body of work was a particular phenomenon in McPhail’s bedroom. Light coming through the window at night began interacting with a painting on the wall, creating an image that changed throughout the night and into the early morning. McPhail became fascinated by it and began photographing it at different hours. This happened around the time his daughter was born, when he was naturally spending more time in the bedroom and awake at hours he normally would not have been. What began as a simple observation of light became an important influence on the work that followed.
McPhail is interested in the way small moments can accumulate meaning. A particular patch of light on a wall may be insignificant one day and unforgettable years later. A room can become connected to a period of life, and the memory of that room can change the way we see it. For McPhail, the experience he hopes to create is one of nostalgia, “the poetry of boredom,” and what he calls “the incredible overwhelming beauty of the moment.” The paintings reward looking slowly and taking a moment to notice, and give space for details to emerge, and for viewers to bring their own memories and associations to what they see.
Ultimately, In Praise of Shadows is an invitation to pay closer attention. McPhail hopes that viewers leave the gallery with a heightened awareness of their surroundings and of the small, easily overlooked moments that can give something meaning.
Structure, 2024, Oil on canvas, 14 x 11 inches
Channel, 2025, Oil on canvas, 14 x 11 inches
Opening, 2024, Oil on canvas, 14 x 11 inches
Artist Statement
In Praise of Shadows dives deeply into place, perception, and memory. These ideas affect each other in ways that are difficult to measure, and shape how we experience the spaces around us.
Shadows and light trigger memories, and the rooms we live in become part of the architecture of our psyche. I’m interested in the way the mundane can accumulate meaning over time, such as a patch of light on a wall or the shadow of a tree.
These paintings are an attempt to hold onto the emotional quality and energy that our surroundings leave with us. I’m focused on what happens when our view is obstructed or fragmented, like looking through foliage, or shadows created by a window at night. These interruptions remind me that the way we see is constantly filtered through something, whether that something is feeling, or ever-changing light.
*In Praise of Shadows is a reference to the 1933 essay on aesthetics by author Jun’ichirō Tanizaki.
About the Artist
Nick McPhail (b. 1982) received a BFA with a focus in Painting and Ceramics from Michigan State University in 2006. McPhail has exhibited internationally in San Francisco, Richmond, Paris, Los Angeles, Geneva, Düsseldorf, Arles, Berlin, Stockholm, Chicago, Miami, Seattle, and New York City. His work has also been presented at The Dallas Art Fair, Untitled Art Fair Miami, London Art Fair, Seattle Art Fair, and Future Fair. His work has been featured in New American Paintings, San Diego Magazine, Style Weekly, Literary Hub, The American Scholar, San Francisco Chronicle, and other publications. His work is held in the permanent collections of Morgan Stanley, Cedars-Sinai, and Michigan State University. McPhail lives and works in Los Angeles.
Shadow, 2026, Oil on canvas, 32 x 60 inches