Alonzo Davis's
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Price Range: $800 - $5,000
Bio
Alonzo Davis’ career as an artist spans four decades. His talents with art emerged in elementary school when he took a drawing class from an architect student at Tuskegee Institute’s Chambliss Children’s House Elementary School. He continued to perfect his innate talents by securing a bachelor of fine art and masters in fine art from Otis College of Art & Design, in addition to receiving a bachelor’s of arts from Pepperdine University.
At the suggestion of artist and former teacher Charles White, Davis began to develop bodies of work – much of it inspired by his travels to Africa, the Caribbean and American southwest.
His involvement in the California mural movement culminated in the 1984 Olympic Murals project, which Davis initiated, coordinated and participated in as an artist. His “Eye on ‘84� (recenty restored) is one of 10 murals on the walls of the downtown Harbor Freeway that served as a visual lead-in to the city of Los Angeles during the Olympia Games.
The departure from Los Angeles to work with the Sacramento Metropolitan Art Commission in 1987 provided Davis for the first time in years, unfettered time in the studio.
Five public art commission, among them – a duo of tile murals for the Boston Subway, a mixed media installation for Atlanta International Airport and a maze-inspired terrazzo floor design for the Memphis/Shelby County Library in Tennessee, allowed him to experiment with a range of unfamiliar materials, ceramic tiles, aluminum, tar paper, neon, terrazzo and wood, which set the stage for his next series.
His work is inspired by artists’ Romare Bearden, Kindinsky and Picasso.
Style
It was about 10 years ago that Davis began to transition from paintings to installations combining 2- and 3-dimensional elements often including bamboo canes. His fascination with the possibilities inherent in bamboo prompted him to begin working with it as a primary medium.
Using an assemblage aesthetic that is deeply informed by African traditions of craft, color, and pattern, Alonzo Davis creates sculpture that easily crosses cultural boundaries. He uses texture and unexpected materials, brilliant color, and has a dramatic use of space in his works.
Davis works in series, including the current “Power Poles,� “Sky Ladders,� “Bamboo Constructions,� and “Passageways.� Best described as paintings in the round, these artworks are embellished with color, wax, copper, leather, twine and burned-in patterns.
The “Power Poles� signify empowerment, spiritual recognition and ethnic connections. “Bamboo Constructions,� groups of poles lashed together with cowhide strips at various angles, suggest sculptural expressionist paintings. “Shields�, a variation of this concept, are wall reliefs, created with varnished bamboo canes. He textures the shields with paint and burned-in patterns. “Sky Ladders� represent higher goals and inspiration, a metaphor for my goal-oriented approach to life. The rungs of some of the ladders are interwoven with branches or other materials-and hark back to his woven painting series.
Artist Statement
My art choices and world views have been inspired by travel. Through travel, I seek influences, cultural centers, energies, new terrain and the power of both the spoken and unspoken. The magic of the Southwest United States, Brazil, Haiti and West Africa has penetrated my work. Southern California, home for 30 years, has also had an indelible impact as have the colors and rhythms of the Pacific Rim.
Exhibitions
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006 Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005 Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
African American Artists of Los Angeles, A Survey Exhibition
California African American Museum
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, CA
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2006 Old Dillard Museum, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
East Hawaii Cultural Center, Hilo, Hawaii
2005 Philadelphia International Airport, PA
Montpelier Cultural Arts Center, Laurel, Maryland
“October Rush,� Nancy Gist, Washington, DC
Perry-Nicole Fine Arts, Memphis, TN
Public Collections
2004 “Eye on LA� (restoration), 1984 Olympic Mural Series, Harbor Freeway at 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA
2001 Memphis Public Library, terrazzo floor collaboration, Tennessee
1998 Hartsfield International Airport, E8 Concourse, Atlanta, GA
1997 Wolfchase Galleria, woven aluminum with neon, Memphis, TN
1995 Revere Beach Subway, ceramic tile murals, Boston, MA
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