Alonzo J. Davis
Alonzo J. Davis' career as an artist spans four decades. A native of Tuskegee, Alabama, Davis moved with his family to Los Angeles in his early teens. After acquiring an undergraduate degree at Pepperdine College he earned an MFA in Printmaking and Design at Otis Art Institute. Influenced early on by the assemblagists, Davis soon took wing and began to experiment with a variety of mediums, techniques and themes. At the suggestion of artist and former professor, Charles White, Davis began to produce prints and paintings in series. While he was inspired by travel to Africa, the Caribbean and American Southwest—the colors and patterns of the Pacific Rim cultures also seeped into Davis’ artwork.
During the ‘70’s and early ‘80’s, Davis’ involvement in the California mural movement culminated with the 1984 Olympic Murals project. His Eye on ’84 (recently restored) is one of ten murals on the walls of the downtown Harbor Freeway. In 1987 Davis entered new territory literally and figuratively when he moved from Los Angeles to Sacramento, California. Fellowships in Hawaii and Texas inaugurated new bodies of work and led to job opportunities in academia--deanships at the San Antonio Art Institute and the Memphis College of Art. During this period his on-going Blanket Series of woven paintings—morphed into a series of installations. Among these were Christopher Columbus Did Not Discover America which incorporated light elements, rocks and arrows, and the Tar Paper Series, richly-textured organic forms that Davis “choreographed” onto large wall spaces. These works signaled a transition from 2-D to 3-D. Commissions to create public art for the Boston Subway, Atlanta International Airport, Galleria and the Memphis/ Shelby County Library in Tennessee indirectly led the way to his next large body of work, sculptural forms that he regards as paintings in the round. Bamboo insinuated its way into Davis’ work about fifteen years ago and he now has a number of series underway in this medium: Power Poles, Sky Ladders, Bamboo Constructions Passageways and the two newest, Series of Seven and Mensah Fetish Series. The American Bamboo Society presented him with the 2006 Award for Excellence in Using Bamboo for his bamboo construction, Judicial Balance, created for the Prince George’s Maryland County Courthouse in Upper Marlboro. A resident of Maryland for the past 7 ½ years, Davis works out of a studio in Baltimore and as a resident artist at the Montpelier Arts Center in Laurel. His work was most recently exhibited in this area as part of the Bilateral Engagement show at the Museum of the Art of the Americas in downtown Washington, D.C.
Martha Jackson-Jarvis
Martha Jackson-Jarvis’ sculptures have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; the Studio Museum of Harlem, N.Y. Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, N.Y.; Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Anacostia Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Tretyakov Gallery Moscow, U.S.S.R. Her numerous awards include a Creative Capital Grant, Virginia Groot Fellowship, and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, The Penny McCall Foundation Grant , and Lila Wallace Arts International Travel Grant.
Jackson Jarvis has undertaken public and corporate art commissions for the Philip Morris corporation in Washington, D.C.; Merck Company in Pennsylvania; Fannie Mae in Washington, D.C. Washington Metro Transit Authority, Anacostia Station; New York Transit Authority, Mount Vernon; South Carolina Botanical Gardens in Clemson; Prince George’s County Courthouse in Upper Marlboro, Md.; Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C.; and MS/HS 368 Bronx, New York.
To view more works by Martha Jackson Jarvis, visit her Web site at www.marthajacksonjarvis.com
Frank Smith
Frank Smith was attracted to paint texture and pattern as a young artist, seeking out a broad spectrum of European influences such as Van Gogh, Picasso, and Seurat. Raised in a family of musicians, Smith was especially attracted to Kandinsky's association of art and music through abstraction. By working on several pieces simultaneously, Smith combines disjointed rhythms and syncopated patterns of paint and mixed media by sewing the canvas together, using a sewing machine–though he does not deny the process's or end product's resemblance to quilt-making.
Smith insists that the process comes out of necessity to sturdily adhere fabric together. Improvisation from a Patch Quilt is a colorful example of his assemblages. Bright zigzag stitching joins colorful patches of painted patterns and found objects. Smith's work simultaneously pays homage to his African heritage and African art education while serving as a vehicle for his own challenges as a contemporary abstract artist. To view more works by Frank Smith, visit his web site at: www.franksmithart.com
