ARTE: B.A.R.

Last week installation artist and sculptor Theaster Gates hosted the first Black Artists Retreat in Chicago.  This also served as an introduction to the many projects Theaster has in progress.  The Black Cinema House, Archive Library, Blair House, Dorchester Artist Housing Collaborative, Hyde Park Art House, and the Kimbark Warehouse are all located on the south side of Chicago and will serve the communities they reside in, in a most immediate way.

The retreat was an opportunity for artists of many generations to meet, talk and plan for collaborative initiatives and ideas for the future.

Kenturah Davis and MJP were lucky and honored to be invited.  Were looking forward to the wonderful new things that will come out of it!

All photos below by Kenturah Davis

MJP & Carrie Mae Weems in dialogueTheaster GatesDinner at the Kimbark WarehouseB.A.R. guest & Curator Amanda HuntArtists - Kenturah Davis & Terence NanceArtists - Dawoud Bey, Carrie Mae Weems & Todd Gray

ARTE: LACE AUCTION

Kenturah's 2011 stamp drawing "I am just being honest" is included in LACE Paddle 8 auction.

There are also other amazing works up for auction...bid NOW while prices are low! 

ARTE: Moments of sonder: Space, Time, Performative

Regarding space, time and performative acts:

The Sonder exhibition represents the synthesis of my pursuits to work more sculpturally and engage time and space in the work. I have embraced the idea of making these text portraits as performative acts. The process of writing a text in repetition over time is a metaphor for the ways that we accumulate information. A pivotal moment that prompted a deeper examination of this idea was during the process of creating my first large-scale drawing installation in 2011. After rendering the portrait with a hand-written text, I destroyed the drawing at the close of the exhibition in front of an audience. This experienced directed me toward making another large scale work that physically engaged an audience in the making/completion of a drawing.

Sonder became a work that not only engaged the audience, but transitioned people into being participants that become a part of the work. The large installation is composed of three layers of translucent textiles, suspended from the ceiling, several feet apart from one another. The transparency of the material allows the viewer to see through parts of the first panel, into the second, while the distance between them allows the viewer to traverse inside the installation. The installation is in a constant state of flux as people move about the space and in between the panels. It is also designed to iterate the very definition of the word sonderand its emphasis on noticing strangers.

***this blog was taken from kenturah's micro-site for sonder...moments of sonder

ARTE: Moments of sonder: Binary Code

Regarding binary code:

Working with the written language, I’ve become increasingly engaged with the history of writing. Understanding that the advent of written information arrived as the capacity of the human memory deteriorated situates my portraits as a kind of record. 

Over a year ago I began thinking about the binary number system and how I might make a drawing using a code. I had an interest in deconstructing text into the most reduced expression as possible. As the idea for Sonder developed into a multi-layered artwork it became important to explore the possibility of working with different kinds of information across the three panels. As a result, the second panel of the installation is composed by converting the definition of the word sonder into binary code and stamping that onto the textile. The tapestry of binary number elicits a reading that is not comprehended in a literal sense; rather, it presents itself as a coded matrix that references the evolution of an ancient mathematical concept into its modern application in computer technology.

***this blog was taken from kenturah's micro-site for sonder...moments of sonder

ARTE: Moments of sonder: QR CODE

Regarding the QR code:

After deciding to draw the second panel with binary code, I knew that a third panel should be an extension of the first two panels that pushed the content of the work into another form to convey information. After converting the original text of the first panel to binary code on the second panel, it made sense to complete the piece by making a final conversion for a third panel. I chose to use a Quick Response code, a matrix barcode, because it technologically relies on the binary system to pass information through cyberspace. QR codes can be scanned by someone’s mobile devices and them to a website. So, I set up a website whose purpose would be to show documentation about the creation of the Sonder exhibit. I then generated a QR code for the URL of the website and ordered a rubber stamp customized with the code. As a result I was able to draw the last panel with a stamp that engages technology in a self-reflexive look at the content of the work, by linking the viewer to this microsite with ongoing documentation about the project (momentsofsonder.tumblr.com).

***this blog was taken from kenturah's micro-site for sonder...moments of sonder

ARTE: SONDER Behind the Scenes!

Thursday evening we opened Kenturah Davis solo exhibit, Sonder. The opening was alot of fun escpically since a week before the opening the artist was still feverishly finishing the art works.  The photos below taken by photographer Xavier Fumat shows a behind the scene glimpse into a private invite only studio visit we did with art collectors and museum curators in LA. During these visits Michelle Joan Papillion walked the guest through Kenturah's work, they were also able to observe her process and watch her create. For photos from the opening click HERE

Update on Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 8:24AM by PAPILLION ART

THE TIME LAPSE VIDEO OF KENTURAH WORKING IN THE GALLERY CREATING ALL OF THE WORKS

ARTE: GENERATIONAL PORTRAITS BY KENTURAH

LA based artist Kenturah Davis recently completed a privately commissioned series of family portraits that span 3 generations. We think they are stunning and looking forward to her solo exhibit at the gallery this spring!

ARTE: Kenturah Documents

There are many things we love about artist Kenturah Davis so we'll try to list a few...

1. She is absolutely stunning! The woman is gorgeous plus she is the fun'est and funniest artist to hang with in LA.
2. She has amazing will power and discipline...like seriously we're in awe of how she maintains her busy schedule and still is able to crank new pieces, expansive wall drawings and give talks/lectures about her art & role in the art community.
3. The art speaks for itself and she's the only artist I know in LA (or period in this contemporary art scene) that creates Stamp Drawings.
4. She documents her process, she documents her process, SHE DOCUMENTS HER PROCESS!!! (okay so maybe i'm a tad partial to artist who document there art, lives and creative process)

Here is the latest installment of the documenting...Kenturah does a big reveal yesterday via her instagram that she is producing light box panels!!! They look great and really can't wait to see them...I think another studio visit is due!

*to experience this documenting process in real time and to read her captions of the photos she post follow Kenturah on tumblr and her twitter

ARTE: Kenturah Davis #BBP

The piece directly below, "mother mother" represents two generations of women in the artists family.  Kenturah's drawing technique is quite remarkable.  For the works below Kenturah creates a grid she than stamps a letter in each box and those letters by her design are used to create the image.  In the case for "mother mother" each stamped drawing was made using the "word mother".

"mother mother" diptych stamped drawing on paper, 2008 - SOLD

"Self Portrait" stamped drawing on paper, 2010 on view and for sale in the gallery

ARTE: BE BEAUTIFUL PROJECT

OPENS IN LESS THAN 10 DAYS...

ARTE: Terminated With Extreme Prejudice: For Troy Davis

Kenturah Davis releases a time lapse video of her first wall drawing, Terminated With Extreme Prejudice the person depicted in Troy Davis and you can see this wall drawing now at Curve Line Space.

ARTE: Kenturah

"mother, mother" 2008 stamp drawing by Kenturah Davis