Louis Fratino’s Prose, on view at David Zwirner’s London gallery from 18 September to 31 October 2026, brings together new paintings exploring everyday life through the language and history of figurative painting. The exhibition marks Fratino’s first London presentation since joining David Zwirner’s roster earlier this year. Art is Alive interviewed the artist early in his career.

The title Prose refers to the ordinary register of daily life, reflected in Fratino’s choice of subjects: bedrooms, coffee shops, subway cars, bathhouses, family gatherings and intimate encounters. His paintings combine observations of friends, family and urban environments with references to earlier traditions of portraiture.

Several works broaden this focus to crowded public spaces. Subway stations, coffee shops and other urban settings bring together groups of figures and explore the movement and social interaction of city life. Fratino’s approach draws on the visual language of early 20th-century British and German painting, particularly artists concerned with modern urban experience.

Historical references remain central to Fratino’s practice. A landscape recalls the atmospheric effects of J.M.W. Turner, while a bedroom scene draws on the subdued light and contemplative mood of 19th-century French painting. The exhibition also addresses queer image-making through its depictions of intimacy and sexuality. In the title work, a sexual encounter is presented within a carefully observed domestic setting, placing desire alongside the everyday details that recur throughout the exhibition. A self-portrait similarly establishes a dialogue with 20th-century painting and its engagement with European modernism.

Born in Maryland in 1993, Fratino studied in Baltimore before undertaking a fellowship in Berlin. His work has since been exhibited internationally, including in Düsseldorf and Milan and at the Venice Biennale. A museum survey in Italy was accompanied by a monograph, while institutions in Baltimore have presented his paintings in dialogue with those of Henri Matisse.

With Prose, Fratino continues to examine how contemporary experience can be placed within the history of painting. Familiar subjects, sexuality and the city for example, become a means of considering the continuing possibilities of figurative painting. This will be one of the best shows of the season.