Irvine-based painter Francis DiFronzo has a knack for capturing the eerie desolation of the Mojave Desert. The title of his show, “Proof of Life,” speaks to the fact that his paintings are devoid of people, yet replete with signs of civilization and the desert’s own seemingly animate presence. Apparently depicting a sight off Dillon Road, a lonely byway connecting Indio and Palm Springs, First Light Dillon Road (all works 2019) evokes the splendor of a craggy mountainside bathed in salmon-gold sunrise, its shadowed crevices glowing amethyst. Other scenes, most of which take place at twilight or after nightfall, are more mysterious. Bringing to mind the apprehensive tenor of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, lone boxcars and neon signposts for defunct motels and diners are inexplicably illuminated; vintage automobiles lurk in deserted parking lots with lights on but no one there. From ancient petroglyphs to recently abandoned structures, deserts are full of detached ghosts of humanity. In The Cathedral, tiny legible graffiti rendered in detail on the side of a rail car evoke disembodied voices speaking from an indefinite past, betokening the passage of time and the transience of hordes who move through stretches of the desert, lingering only a while yet leaving marks of their existence for years to come.

George Billis Gallery
2716 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Show runs through Feb. 15