A glow emanates from the paintings of Travis MacDonald. They catch the light and seem to send it out to the viewer. This luminescence resembles that of church windows or paintings behind glass—a special glow that captivates and draws the eye into the work.

The Berlin-based painter depicts figures and objects in both interior and exterior settings. MacDonald creates suspenseful, atmospheric compositions consisting of geometric elements such as grids, windows, banisters, and other architectural elements, as well as organic forms including bodies and landscapes.

The impression of a special glow issuing from MacDonald’s motifs stems from the many layers of thin oil paint that he uses to build up his pictures. He dilutes tones of ochre, vermillion, violet, and green with water so that he can apply ever-thinner coats. Brush marks, paint runs, and pastel colour streaks remain visible.

MacDonald sometimes experiments with silk as his canvas, covering frames with the translucent material to further augment the glowing effect. In this way, the paint not only reflects the light that hits it but also that which comes from behind the surface.

For his show of new paintings at Contemporary Fine Arts Basel, MacDonald has chosen the title Autoluminescent, borrowing the term from a bluesy song by the Australian post-punk musician Rowland S. Howard. On the one hand, this gesture emphasises the importance of music for the artist, depictions of which can be found repeatedly in his paintings. On the other hand, the term expresses the ‘autoluminescent’ effect of the paintings as sources of light that create a peculiar mood all their own.

MacDonald draws inspiration from art history in many of his works. His subdued colour palette and sense of composition are reminiscent of Post-Impressionist painters such as Pierre Bonnard, Édouard Vuillard, and Félix Vallotton, with whom he shares a sense for the suspenseful and for an atmosphere that appears to be somehow out of time.

Indeed, the exhibited works thrive on this kind of dreamlike aesthetic: MacDonald’s figures seem like spirit beings not only of overlapping colours but of overlapping times, while his canvases appear like windows onto other fantastic worlds, despite the generally worldly character of his motifs.

MacDonald shows figures and objects in rural and urban spaces: a man gets off a bus holding a freshly ironed white shirt; a couple enter a house and greet the host’s hand; a group of young people listen to a DJ gig. These scenes appear like snapshots, ordinary moments in non-places where everyday things happen.

In his pictures, the artist combines and overlaps that which is familiar to him with photographs previously seen, moods experienced, and memories from the past. As a result, his working method may be described as a layering of realities. In his studio, he lives in dialogue with these scenes over months. Figures and objects change and disappear; new ones are added in the next layer. A picturesque density arises in these paintings, creating a melancholic mood in which the observer may immerse themselves.