Plumb Line at California African American Museum

“A Surreal Presence for Every Possible State” 2018 “All Water Has a Perfect Memory” 2018

“A Surreal Presence for Every Possible State” 2018

“All Water Has a Perfect Memory” 2018

Plumb Line: Charles White and the Contemporary

March 8 - August 25, 2019

Curated by: Essence Harden, independent curator, and Leigh Raiford, Associate Professor of African American Studies at the University of California at Berkeley

A prolific painter, printmaker, muralist, draftsman, and photographer whose career spanned more than half a century, Charles White’s artistic portrayals of black subjects, life, and history were extensive and far-reaching. Plumb Line features contemporary artists whose work in the realm of black individual and collective life resonates with White’s profound and continuing influence.

From abstraction to figuration, the artists of Plumb Line (listed below) find conversation with White through the largesse of their canvases, expansive renderings of black skin and black community, and in the treatment of black past and presence in ways that are both epic and intimate.

The plumb line, an architectural tool used to determine verticality, is a featured element in White’s Birmingham Totem, suggesting the work of black artists as architects of change. White himself can also be considered an artistic plumb line: a builder of black artistic opportunities and a compass directing us toward new aesthetic, liberatory possibilities.

Plumb Line is curated by Essence Harden, independent curator, and Leigh Raiford, Associate Professor of African American Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, for the California African American Museum. The exhibition is presented as a companion to the LACMA exhibitions Charles White: A Retrospective and Life Model: Charles White and his Students.

Complete list of artists: Derrick Adams, Sadie Barnette, Dawoud Bey, Diedrick Brackens, Greg Breda, Bisa Butler, Alfred Conteh, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Ariel Dannielle, Kenturah Davis, Torkwase Dyson, Kohshin Finley, Derek Fordjour, Ficre Ghebreyesus, EJ Hill, Yashua Klos, Nate Lewis, Michelangelo Lovelace, Christopher Myers, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Deborah Roberts, Lava Thomas, Charles White, and Deborah Willis

Blur in the Interest of Precision

MATTHEW BROWN LOS ANGELES

Inaugural Exhibition

Kenturah Davis


Blur in the Interest of Precision 

January 26—March 3 2019

Opening Reception

Saturday January 26th, 6—9pm

Blur in the Interest of Precision is a search for parallel conditions between the poetics of our visual experience and the strangeness of our relationship to language. We often use language to carve out distinctions between one thing and another. Davis' objective—to complicate ideas about meaning, representation and perception—have found refuge in blur and doubling. The artist's new drawings are rendered with arrangements of text, but the words are virtually illegible. Many of the portraits pursue ideas the artist is working through via the writings of Fred Moten and Toni Morrison’s essay, Sites of Memory.

MATTHEW BROWN LOS ANGELES
633 North La Brea
Los Angeles 90036 

matthewbrowngallery.com

info@matthewbrowngallery.com

 
[detail] All Water has Perfect Memory..., 2018Oil paint applied with rubber stamp letters and graphite grid on embossed Mohachi paper2 panels, 29 x 45 inches each58 x 45 overall

[detail] All Water has Perfect Memory..., 2018

Oil paint applied with rubber stamp letters and graphite grid on embossed Mohachi paper

2 panels, 29 x 45 inches each

58 x 45 overall

 

23-Year-Old Matthew Brown Opens LA’s newest gallery

-OBSERVER

 

Matthew Brown Los Angeles Set to Open in Hollywood

-ARTNEWS

NXTHVN Artist Fellowship

Kenturah was selected to be one of 7 artists, along with 2 curators to participate in the inaugural year of the NXTHVN fellowship program. The fully-funded fellowships provide artists and curators with dedicated space, stipends and research opportunities to advance our practices. 

Studio Fellows:

Felipe Baeza

Jaclyn Conley

Kenturah Davis

Merik Goma

Christie Neptune

Alexandria Smith

Vaughn Spann

Curator Fellows:

Ana Tuazon

Riham Majeed

Founded by artists Titus Kaphar and Jonathan Brand in 2015, NXTHVN is an ambitious art space housed in a former manufacturing plant in the Dixwell neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut. Their mission is to cultivate a sustainable creative community that attracts and supports talent within and beyond New Haven. The NXTHVN team, with Deborah Berke Partners has designed a unique shared environment where artists and curators converge for an opportunity to make art, exchange ideas, and extend their networks. The comprehensive fellowships provide dedicated work space, a stipend, a professional development curriculum, and mentorship opportunities. They combine these resources with a paid high school Apprenticeship program to ensure the next generation of talent receives the support and direction it needs. Immersed in the area’s rich intersection of art, academia and history, NXTHVN’s exhibition space, black box theater, and co-working space further create an atmosphere of collaboration, inclusion and social engagement.

Crosstown x Seed Space x Delta Axis

 
Kenturah Davis

Kenturah Davis

Desmond Lewis

Desmond Lewis

 

Kenturah Davis + Desmond Lewis

02/15/19 – 03/10/19
10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Crosstown Arts, West Gallery, Crosstown Concourse,

Seed Space + Delta Axis present: Kenturah Davis + Desmond Lewis

Memphis artist Desmond Lewis and Kenturah Davis (an artist working between Los Angeles, New Haven, and Accra, Ghana) were selected by Delta Axis and Locate Arts/Seed Space to exhibit their work together based on their innovative sensitivity to material, their exploration of social and relational content, and the critical acclaim associated with their work.

Opening: Friday, Feb. 15, 6-8 pm
On view: February 15-March 10
Panel discussion: Saturday, Feb. 16, 2 pm

 

A Nostalgic Return West

IMG_3977.JPG
 
 

Following the completion of her MFA degree from Yale School of Art in 2018, Kenturah was invited by Professor Linda Lyke to teach as an Assistant Professor at her alma mater, Occidental College. Her course, Photo Processes in Printmaking guided students through many material experiments, along with visits to famed print workshop, Gemini G.E.L. and a studio visit with John Houck.

YALE

I'm going to YELL...I'm going to YALE.

This fall I'll be starting at Yale University School of Art to pursue an MFA degree in the Painting/Printmaking department. I'm excited to join the ranks of so many artists that I love who have come out of that program and I'm thankful to all who offered advice that will no doubt come in handy. 

Metro Commission

in

Kenturah Davis named one of fourteen artists selected to create art for Crenshaw/LAX Line project

A panel of nationally recognized curators and local arts professionals, including community members from the Crenshaw/LAX corridor, has selected fourteen artists to create site-specific, integrated artworks for the Crenshaw/LAX project. The diverse range of accomplished artists includes:

Ingrid Calame (Crenshaw/Vernon Station)
Eileen Cowin (Crenshaw/MLK Station)
Kenturah Davis (Florence/La Brea Station)
Deanna Erdmann (Crenshaw/Vernon Station)
Sherin Guirguis (Aviation/Century Station)
Carlson Hatton (Crenshaw/Slauson Station)
Mara Lonner (Crenshaw/MLK Station)
Rebeca Méndez (Crenshaw/Expo Station)
Geoff McFetridge (Florence/Hindry Station)
Erwin Redl (Crenshaw/Expo Station)
Kim Schoenstadt (Florence/West Station)
Jaime Scholnick (Crenshaw/Expo Station)
Shinique Smith (Crenshaw/MLK Station)
Mickalene Thomas (Crenshaw/Vernon Station)

The selection followed an extensive outreach process including a series of artist workshops, community presentations, notices in local papers and on social media. A call to artists was sent to over 5,000 artists and widely distributed to local arts organizations and resulted in over 1,200 responses.

The artist selection panel carefully considered how the artworks would relate to their specific sites and communities as well as how they would relate to each other and contribute to the customer’s transit experience along the entire alignment. To ensure their permanence as cultural landmarks, the artworks will be executed in a range of highly durable materials including glass, tile, porcelain enamel steel, stainless steel and mosaic.

Metro Art has a strong track record of working with artists and communities, and in keeping with this tradition, artists will engage surrounding communities in a range of approaches. Stay tuned for posts on meet-the-artist events and project updates, as well as stories related to upcoming artworks specifically designed to mitigate impacts during project construction phases.