Damien Davis: Hard Line Fade

On view at Charlie James Gallery is “Hard Line Fade,” New York-based artist Damien Davis’ first solo exhibition with the gallery. Through craft, design and digital modes of production, Davis explores historical representations of Blackness, seeking to unpack the visual language of cultures and investigate how society codes, decodes and recodes representations of race. The exhibition features a new collection of works of different scales from the artist’s Blackamoors Collages series. The aesthetic of these works merge the pattern language of African textiles with the visual language of race as expressed in contemporary American political culture. Originally made of shapes like candelabras, cowrie shells, and oversized lips, over time, the series has expanded to incorporate iconography from contemporary culture and political discourse.