Prior to the pandemic, California painter Francis DiFronzo was already occupying a certain kind of space—one without people, where the earth was slowly reclaiming remnants of forgotten societies, where artifacts of past lives stood as monuments to mankind’s fleeting presence.
And then it was March, and the world started to feel like one of his paintings.
Last Light (Part 4), oil over watercolor and gouache on panel, 32 x 72"
“It’s funny because I was already thinking about the end of the world, about these massive changes in our society and existence because of global warming. Maybe 100 years from now with no human life on the planet. I never planned on a pandemic, but then it happened,” DiFronzo says. “My work is an examination of the things we leave behind, these abandoned places that are desolate and empty. And everything I was working on seemed to really speak to what was happening.”
His new work will be in a solo show opening September 1 at George Billis Gallery in New York City. The paintings will be set within the Southwest, which has given the artist plenty of inspiration. One of his favorite destinations is the Mojave Desert, known for its vastness and also the numerous lived-in places that have been abandoned at various points in the last century. One of the works will also show a train car, another frequent subject. 
Crossing Paths, oil over watercolor and gouache on panel, 32 x 49"
Nothing Starts Tomorrow (Part 9), oil over watercolor and gouache on panel, 32 x 24"
“Trains really come from my own childhood. I always loved trains, and we had train set every Christmas. I was one of those kids who was fascinated if we ever got stuck at a crossing,” he says. “Today the trains are more symbolic. They represent the expansion of the West, which also relates to my own personal history of moving out to the West.”
Although the paintings are often of cars, train, hotel signs and other roadside objects, DiFronzo sees great opportunities for storytelling in these scenes. “I like to think the story just happened, or maybe it’s ongoing, or maybe it happened years before. There’s always a mystery as to how and why these things are here,” he says, adding that he has been frequently constructing scale models of his reference material. “The painting isn’t a whole story. Often it’s just a paragraph of a story, something that’s not clear until you investigate further.”
I Told Them Where You Are, oil over watercolor and gouache on panel, 40 x 55"
He continues, “Realism is like being a journalist. People assume you’re telling the truth, and I like playing with that. I like creating places that seem real, to make people wonder where it is, but none of it is real. We’re more willing to suspend disbelief for these place.” —
George Billis Gallery 525 W. 26th Street, Ground Floor • New York, NY 10001
(212) 645-2621 • www.georgebillis.com
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