Like a Living Thing: Chris Mottalini’s Portraits of Anaïs Nin’s Silverlake Refuge.

Chris Mottalini explores late author and essayist Anaïs Nin through portraits of her home in Silverlake.

Chris Mottalini is a name that keeps coming up. Artist and photographer, the Hudson Valley-based creative is known for his portrait-like approach to architectural photography. Chris’ work interacts with the chosen spaces he photographs, intentionally framing each shot to convey the specific light, texture, and ethereal quality of a place.

His latest work is on show now at Mary MacGill’s, a lifestyle brand, atelier, gallery and store in Germantown, NY. In the exhibition, ‘Like a Living Thing’, Chris presents an exploration of the late author and essayist Anaïs Nin’s LA refuge in Silverlake through images.

Chris’ work allows access to Anaïs’ most personal space—filled with rich wood grain corners, painted portraits of the exuberant author soaked in golden light and saturated with deep purple, mauve, and turquoise hues. The photographs offer glimpses of Anaïs beyond the house’s rich decor, with featured collected objects and art acting as clues and offering interesting context to her writing.

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The combination of details in the work evokes an authentic celebration of Anaïs’ unique character and the nourishment she gained from being in Silverlake—as she explains in her own words: “Had I not created my whole world, I would certainly have died in other people’s.”

The photography series is shown alongside Brooklyn-based artist Nate Hill’s hand-built one-of-a-kind utilitarian objects. The furniture is built out of found wood scraps, employing a sense of childlike wonder by creating a silhouette that both delights and serves a specific purpose. Once built, he applies paint to further articulate these whimsical and aesthetically honed works.

‘Like a Living Thing’ lingers in the poetry of home; how the objects and spaces we surround ourselves with are expressive of our experiences, becoming tangible histories of our intimate lives. The exhibition points to a meticulous, almost obsessive, interest in the interior world.

‘Like a Living Thing’ is on now through to December at Mary MacGill in Germantown, NY. To learn more about the exhibition, click here. For more of Chris Mottalini’s work, head to mottalini.com.

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Chris Mottalini’s photos are shown alongside Brooklyn-based artist Nate Hill’s hand-built objects at Mary MacGill in Germantown, NY. Photos by Em Mccann Zauder.

[Images courtesy of Chris Mottalini. Exhibition photography by Em Mccann Zauder.]