For Immediate Release
Spring 2019
Media Contact: Katie Sorenson, Community Engagement Manager
[email protected]
Damien Davis: Color Cargo
May 3 – July 20, 2019
Curator: Jennifer-Navva Milliken
Click here for the Dropbox file.
Philadelphia PA: The Center for Art in Wood is pleased to present Damien Davis: Color Cargo, an exhibition curated by Artistic Director Jennifer-Navva Milliken. The exhibition is Damien Davis’ first solo exhibition in a museum. In an installation of new works never before seen by the public, it examines, through the distinct voice of the artist, the role of wood in historical and contemporary commercial transport—from the mid-Atlantic slave trade to e-commerce—and the subjective power of color as a tool for assigning value, in order to create a deceptively appealing space for confronting bias and dehumanization in contemporary society.
Damien Davis (b.1984) is a New York-based artist who explores historical representations of blackness by seeking to unpack the visual language of various cultures and to question how these societies code and decode representations of race. Using digital tools to shape layers of materials both natural and synthetic, Davis composes stories, told through a lexicon of graphic figures and shapes, that oscillate between the personal memories of the artist and chapters of human history.
The Center invites the press for a preview of Damien Davis: Color Cargo with the Artistic Director on Friday, May 3, 2019, 8 – 10 am. A reception will be held that day from 5 – 8 pm and will include a gallery talk with artist and curator from 6 – 7 pm. In conjunction with the exhibition is a hands-on workshop on Saturday, June 8, 2019, 10 am – 4 pm, as well as a talk delivered by Davis on Saturday, July 20, 2019, 2 – 4 pm. The exhibition will run through July 20, 2019.
EVENTS
First Fridays | May 3, June 7, July 5 | 5 – 8pm
Gallery talk with the artist and curator | Fri, May 3 | 6 – 7 pm followed by opening reception
Hands-on workshop with the artist | Sat, June 8 | 10 am – 4 pm
Closing artist’s talk | Sat, July 20 | 2 – 4 pm
For more information please contact Katie Sorenson, at 215-923-8000 or [email protected].
The exhibition program at the Center is generously supported by the Cambium Giving Society of The Center for Art in Wood, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and Windgate Charitable Foundation. Corporate support is provided by Boomerang, Inc., Penn State Industries, Signarama Center City, and Sun-lite Corporation.
Pictured: Damien Davis, Crate #2 (detail), 2017. Laser-etched wood.
—End—