Art Herning

Art Herning

Davis Gallery is coming to Art Herning 2024, and we will be showcasing works by

Anna U Davis, Christina Bardram, Bel & Vitor Azambuja, Carsten Krogstrup,
Susanne Aamund, Daniel Goldenberg, Annette Wier And Hanne Nielsen Kjærsgaard

Art Herning 2024 will be held in Herning Kongrescenter Østergade 37, 7400 Herning
January 26th – 28th

Reality Check @ Davis Gallery - Copenhagen , Denmark

Reality Check - solo exhibition by Anna U Davis

Davis Gallery
September 23 - October 21

 


/  Reality Check investigates the concept of diffusion of responsibility (a socio-psychological phenomenon whereby an individual assumes that other people are responsible for taking necessary action) in regards to gender inequality through an intersectional lens. The work addresses our unwillingness to listen, our resistance to speak up, and our inability to see the imminent consequences of our indifference

The Personal and Political Art of Anna U Davis by Timothy Brown


The Personal and Political Art of Anna U Davis

by Timothy Brown

 

There is a widely-held notion that art should not be informed by politics. In this view, politics is seen as propaganda that undermines the integrity of art, which should rise above practical concerns of the state. Reality Check, an exhibition of work by Anna U Davis, challenges this perception by embracing their interconnection. As Davis states:

“Art serves a dual purpose for me. It is a vehicle to express my socio-political views and a coping mechanism.”

For Davis, this duality involves her subjectivity, working through traumatic experiences, coupled with a keen sense of the objective conditions that impact our lives on a systemic level. Her dialectical approach to art therefore begins with an awareness of art and politics as a “perceived” contradiction, which (ultimately) is a false dichotomy that must be overcome through direct action—most importantly, through her art. As Karl Marx once remarked about dialectical materialism:

“The philosophers have interpreted the world, the point however is to change it.”

Anna U Davis. Diffusion of Responsibility, 2021, acrylic, ink pen and cut paper collage on canvas 74 X 147 inches

Davis addresses the passivity and indifference that hinder human action in her monumental work Diffusion of Responsibility. “Diffusion of responsibility” is a sociopsychological phenomenon whereby an individual assumes that other people are responsible for taking necessary action. The work contains 36 of her signature Frocasian characters, all rendered with gray-toned skin inspired by her interracial marriage. These gray tones unite them in their common humanity, yet each figure is a floating signifier, conceptually tied to their existential moorings, yet revealing a degree of “slippage” that leaves their unique situations in flux. Rather than be anchored to a resolute state of being, they function as dyadic “signs” that embody decision and indecision. Collectively, the paintings engender a process of signification (semiosis), as the “diffusion of responsibility” passes from one subject to the next. The irreducibility of each representation suggests that any one of these “personas” can be us as well.

By inviting us to acknowledge the implications of our actions, Davis offers a feminist critique of society—one that illuminates the complex relationship between our individual struggles and larger issues, such as gender inequality, racial discrimination, and climate change. In other words, “the personal is political.” By placing her art at the intersection of these three societal challenges, Davis echoes views held by other feminists, such as bell hooks, who articulated the interconnection of race, class, and gender by what she termed the “white-supremacist-capitalist-patriarchy.” As hooks explained:

“I wanted to have some language that would actually remind us continually of the interlocking systems of domination that define our reality and not to just have one thing be like, you know, gender is the important issue, race is the important issue…”

Anna U Davis. Shark-cuteri, 2016. acrylic, ink pen and cut paper collage on canvas. 72 x 96 inches.

Another work informed by Davis’s own tripartite model of feminist critique is Shark-cuteri. The painting features a reclining nude woman whose body parts are labeled like slabs of meat. The limbs of this figure are like cut-out appendages reminiscent of commodity fetishism. Four male figures with voracious appetites loom over her fragmented and dehumanized body as they partake of this display of meat and female flesh. As discussed earlier in Notes on the Female Gaze, this depiction speaks to a long tradition of patriarchal sensibilities that serve to normalize the male gaze while objectifying women for pleasure and consumption. Normally, the male gaze is hidden, but Davis artfully dissects for us a hyperreal vision of her body, giving visceral form to the psychological and ideological underpinnings of these projections. The sexualized nature of this tradition is thereby extended into the marketplace, revealing the dual manner in which the objectification of women is perpetuated by sexism and capitalism.

Anna U Davis, Biosphere, 2021, acrylic, ink pen, pumice and cut paper collage on canvas, 72 x 72 inches

The conceptual depth of Davis’s work is vividly defined by her strong command of multimedia and the ingenious techniques by which she renders her subjects. Similar to what Clemente Greenberg called the “self-critical” tendency in modernist painting, Davis’s technical facility spurs her to push the boundaries of her art, leading to surprising results. For example, you may notice that the glossy surfaces of her work give the illusion of having been painted on glass rather than on canvas; this involves a technique of adding varnish to each layer or application. When viewed as dyadic signs, these glossy surfaces provide a window/mirror effect. For instance, in her work Biosphere, which addresses climate change, what appears as a “window” into a picturesque and timeless landscape (reminiscent of Claude Lorrain) also functions as a “mirror” that compels us to look at our own reflection and consider the temporality of our existence, as well as the consequences of what may happen if we do not take climate change seriously.

The works of Anna U Davis offer a wealth of beauty unto themselves, but are also invitations to look, think, and act. Through a process of imaginative identification, viewers can connect to each painting subjectively and enjoy their unique aesthetic virtues, while never losing sight of the urgent social conditions that impact us all—regardless of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, region, or country of origin.

02 FEB 2022

Washington City Paper - City Lights: Look Inward With Anna U Davis’s Reality Check

The Swedish artist’s latest exhibit, on display at Hillyer Gallery, invites us to examine how we may be perpetuating social injustices.

by HANNAH DOCTER-LOEB FEBRUARY 8TH, 2022

Reality Check

You’re in a large group of people, and someone says something distasteful. You decide to stay quiet, figuring someone else will speak up. This common, sociopsychological phenomenon, known as diffusion of responsibility, is the inspiration for Swedish-born Anna U Davis’s latest exhibit, Reality Check at Hillyer Gallery. Throughout the exhibit’s paintings, Davis evokes diffusion of responsibility in the context of social dilemmas, particularly gender inequality, racial discrimination, and climate change. Like her other work, Reality Check features Davis’ signature abstract gray-toned figures, which she calls “Frocasians.” With a name that combines “Afro” and “Caucasian,” these figures are intentionally colorless and meant to represent people in a way that transcends race. In her latest work, she renders these figures in a diverse array of materials—including paper, acrylic paint, and fabric—to create mixed-media pieces that convey the ways in which humans often fail to intervene when something is wrong. Reality Check is meant to inspire audiences to check themselves and reflect on how they may be standing in the way of equity and justice. “Everybody can be part of the diffusion of responsibility,” Davis says. “I wanted to evoke the thought process [so that] people are going to think about, ‘How can we recognize when that’s happening, and what can we do about it?’” To Davis, this process of looking inward is important for tangible societal change. “We have to start with ourselves to start to correct,” she said. “I want people to question themselves as an individual, what they can do, and how they can take accountability. If we all do that as a group, we can change. But it starts with one.” Reality Check is on display through Feb. 27 at IA&A at Hillyer, 9 Hillyer Ct. NW. athillyer.org. Free–$8. Proof of vax and masks required.

2021 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant

I'm thrilled to announce that I have been awarded a 2021 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant!

Special thanks to the jury that believed in my work!

Thank you to the 3 amazing women who took time out of their lives and wrote incredible letters of support.

Thank you Rebecca J. Ritzel!

Thank you Sondra N. Arkin!

Thank you Andrea Pollan!

@pollockkrasnerfoundation

In support of Lee Krasner’s mission to advance the work of visual artists, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation is honored to provide support to the growing list nearly 5,000 #PKFGrantees who have received nearly $79 million across 78 countries to-date.

#PollockKrasnerFoundation • #PKF • #PKFGrantee • #LeeKrasner • #VisualArtists

#annaudavis #frocasian

Lee Krasner in Hans Hoffman’s studio, early 1940s. Photo ©Robert E. Mates and Paul Katz. Lee Krasner artwork ©Pollock-Krasner Foundation/ARS. Image courtesy of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation.

Lee Krasner in Hans Hoffman’s studio, early 1940s. Photo ©Robert E. Mates and Paul Katz. Lee Krasner artwork ©Pollock-Krasner Foundation/ARS. Image courtesy of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation.