Davis, Jeremy Okai. Untitled (White), 2017. 2018 Individual Artist Fellow, Oregon Arts Commission.
Originally published February, 2018
The work of Jeremy Okai Davis exploits a tension between bright painterly gesture, pop-culture references and an underlying anxiety the artist describes as “the inner, self-conscious, status obsessed, mind.” In his newest paintings, the substrates are built up at a slightly angled structure, which further dis-locates and invites the viewer. Davis’ work has been exhibited at Worksound, Duplex Gallery, P:EAR Gallery, and the White Gallery in Portland, and was included in the exhibition Speaking of People: Ebony, Jetand Contemporary Art at the Studio Museum of Harlem, 2014. Davis received a BFA in Painting from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte in 2002. His work is in the public collections of the State of Oregon and Randall Children’s Hospital. Says the artist, “My work focuses primarily on me as an African-American, Artist, Son, Brother and Friend. Thematically these paintings touch on my personal history as it relates to popular culture, from art, sports to literature.”
Courtesy of the Oregon Arts Commission.
Artist Credit: Jeremy Okai Davis