Damien Davis, Black Gold Miner (Blackamoors Collage #279) detail, Laser-cut plexiglass and stainless steel hardware, 12 x 13 x 2 in
LatchKey Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in Untitled Art Fair on the beach at Ocean Drive and 12th Street in Miami Beach, Fl, December 4–8, 2019. A solo presentation featuring works by Damien Davis new series, COLLAPSE: Black Wall Street Study will preview at Untitled Art Fair and travel back for its institutional exhibition at Weeksville Heritage Center, Brooklyn NY from January 20, 2020 – March 5, 2020.
COLLAPSE: Black Wall Street Study looks into the history of Greenwood, the historic freedom colony in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Greenwood was one of the most prominent communities for African-American businesses during the early 20th century, and was popularly known as America's "Black Wall Street." In 1921, white residents massacred as many as 300 black residents, injuring hundreds more, and razed the neighborhood within hours. This is now known today as the Tulsa race riot.
COLLAPSE: Black Wall Street Study highlights the destruction of a successful black community, a political act in line with numerous US traditions in relation to race, both historical and contemporary. As we near the hundredth anniversary of the Greenwood massacre, and as the issue of reparations is hotly debated in Washington, COLLAPSE: Black Wall Street Study seeks to open a dialogue on the progress that has (or has not) been made. Davis’ work seeks to recenter oppressed narratives, by acknowledging both the inherent danger of daring to take up space as a black person, and by developing navigational strategies for infiltration and reorientation of those same narratives. Through his use of seductive materials and surfaces to open up a space for more difficult conversations to occur.
For further information, please contact Amanda Uribe or Natalie Kates at info@latchkeygallery.com
About the Artist:
Damien Davis is a Brooklyn-based artist, born in Crowley, Louisiana and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. His practice explores historical representations of blackness by unpacking the visual language of various cultures, question how these societies code/decode representations of race through craft, design and digital modes of production. Made up of glyphic shapes, patterns, and images, the works interact in dynamic ways, that creating ever-shifting relationships and meanings, while brokering new associations and conversations. His work has appeared at The Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Arts and Design, and Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling. Mr. Davis has also presented solo exhibitions in Philadelphia and Seattle, as well as Reading Pennsylvania and Richmond, Virginia. Mr. Davis has also participated in group exhibitions across the country, as well as in Hiroshima, Japan and Florence Italy. He is the recipient of the Rema Hort Mann Foundation Community Engagement Grant and has been awarded residencies with Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling the Museum of Arts and Design, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and Pilchuck Glass School. Mr. Davis is also a former fellow and current advisor for the Art & Law Program in New York City. His work has been mentioned in the New York Times, Frieze Magazine, The Guardian, Hyperallergic and Vulture Magazine.Mr. Davis holds a BFA in Studio Art and an MA in Visual Arts Administration from New York University.
About Weeksville Heritage Center:
Weeksville Heritage Center is a historic house museum dedicated to preserving the history of one of the largest free black communities in pre-Civil War America, Weeksville, Brooklyn.Using historic preservation, the arts, education and civic engagement, the center’s mission is to keep history relevant and resonant for contemporary audiences. http://www.WeeksvilleSociety.org