With and Within
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 8, 6-8pm
On view: February 8 - February 29th, 2024
Artists Talk: February 29, 4-5:30pm
With and Within
Ryan Davis
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In nature I feel a sense of being and find curiosity in the most mundane yet unusual moments. In these moments I pull memories from a Black-African heritage and our ancestral relationship with the natural world. However, as a means of survival our ways of being in nature has gone through many forms of transformation and adaptation making these memories incomplete, disorienting, and mystifying. Understanding this dynamic is where I begin the process of building a personal relationship with the natural world. My work reflects this journey as representations of surreal ways of being with and within nature. I build these spaces by incorporating West African and indigenous agriculture practices and photograph references from my various hikes. Each composition reveals a coexistence between the materials and the marks, reconciling the push and pull between finished and unfinished aspects of the surface into a singular moment.
Ryan Davis
​
In nature I feel a sense of being and find curiosity in the most mundane yet unusual moments. In these moments I pull memories from a Black-African heritage and our ancestral relationship with the natural world. However, as a means of survival our ways of being in nature has gone through many forms of transformation and adaptation making these memories incomplete, disorienting, and mystifying. Understanding this dynamic is where I begin the process of building a personal relationship with the natural world. My work reflects this journey as representations of surreal ways of being with and within nature. I build these spaces by incorporating West African and indigenous agriculture practices and photograph references from my various hikes. Each composition reveals a coexistence between the materials and the marks, reconciling the push and pull between finished and unfinished aspects of the surface into a singular moment.
Artschoolscammer (Denae Howard) is A Brooklyn-based Conceptual artist, educator, curator and advisor. At the moment she is solely a collaborative artist. Working with her cooperative #Dayonesart and other Black creatives invested in making work that forces necessary conversation. Her work is a coded-guide that promotes discussions that reveal the similarities and differences in the way individuals’ experience systems. Her practice stems from a need to create space and conversation around the systems that govern our natural existence. As a visual artist and contributor to culture she feels it is imperative to create art that reflects cognitive, emotional and social pedagogy. Her works are re-appropriations of negative archetypes and stereotypes to reclaim and transcend positive meaning for Black people. But also re-imaginings of the limitless opportunities of Black Existence.
Artschoolscammer (Denae Howard) is A Brooklyn-based Conceptual artist, educator, curator and advisor. At the moment she is solely a collaborative artist. Working with her cooperative #Dayonesart and other Black creatives invested in making work that forces necessary conversation. Her work is a coded-guide that promotes discussions that reveal the similarities and differences in the way individuals’ experience systems. Her practice stems from a need to create space and conversation around the systems that govern our natural existence. As a visual artist and contributor to culture she feels it is imperative to create art that reflects cognitive, emotional and social pedagogy. Her works are re-appropriations of negative archetypes and stereotypes to reclaim and transcend positive meaning for Black people. But also re-imaginings of the limitless opportunities of Black Existence.
My work from the "The Journey" series stems from seeing a spiritual reader in New Orleans, and being advised to study Aboriginal Dot Art, to help me with my writing. As I am not an Indigenous Australian, my work does not fall into the same category, but I do use some of their symbols to create stories that speak to me. Many of my paintings start with black backgrounds, representing the darkness before creation, layering on vibrant colors and muted metallics. CIrcles recur in my paintings, representing unity and movement. The repetitive, layering process is probably what I love the most, because it feels like an expansion of the mind.
In this body of work I think about Creation of all, How we function in our time here, and the Cycle of life. Above all else, I believe that Woman is the beginning of life and the keeper of life. The symbol for Woman can be found in many of my paintings. - Yolonda Ross
My work from the "The Journey" series stems from seeing a spiritual reader in New Orleans, and being advised to study Aboriginal Dot Art, to help me with my writing. As I am not an Indigenous Australian, my work does not fall into the same category, but I do use some of their symbols to create stories that speak to me. Many of my paintings start with black backgrounds, representing the darkness before creation, layering on vibrant colors and muted metallics. CIrcles recur in my paintings, representing unity and movement. The repetitive, layering process is probably what I love the most, because it feels like an expansion of the mind.
In this body of work I think about Creation of all, How we function in our time here, and the Cycle of life. Above all else, I believe that Woman is the beginning of life and the keeper of life. The symbol for Woman can be found in many of my paintings. - Yolonda Ross