Language Arts

I love words. They provide the frame upon which our thoughts and feelings hang delicately for others to see. They inherently carry so much weight, thus to me visual representations of their meaning can only amplify their power.

Artist Kenturah Davis shapes words and phrases into life-like portraits. You see yourself in each drawing and immerse yourself in each phrase. You admire the detailed texture of the hair or a beaded chain across a collar-bone, only to look closely and discover that this drawing is just a phrase written over and over on the page until the final image forms. No outlines, no traced photos, just the words "I am deliberate and afraid of nothing. I am deliberate and afraid of nothing. I am deliberate and afraid of nothing." Words layered on top of one another, sometimes allowing just a few letters to form the corner of a woman's mouth or part of the flower in her dress. You've got to see it for yourself.

I've loved Kenturah Davis' work since viewing last year's Sonder exhibit and I'm grateful to Papillion Art Gallery for the introduction.

Papillion Art Gallery in Leimert Park is amazing. Michelle Papillion has ventured into new territory bringing a young and vibrant artist community back to one of LA's oldest neighborhoods. I am here for the movement and inspired every time I drop by.

"Narratives and Meditations" by Kenturah Davis is gone.... but there's new art on the way! http://www.papillionart.com/