Karon Davis

b. 1977, Reno, Nevada
Lives in Los Angeles

Venue

Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans
900 Camp Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Monday, 11 AM–5 PM
Tuesday, Closed
Wednesday–Sunday, 11 AM–5 PM

Neighborhood

Downtown/Central Business District (CBD)

about the artist

Karon Davis grew up in New York, attended Spelman College, Atlanta, and film school at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. She is the cofounder of the Underground Museum in Los Angeles. Her background in dance, film, and theater informs her approach to representing the human body and physical relationships through figurative sculpture. She sculpts in plaster, a medium that conveys a sense of the temporary, of having captured a fleeting, singular moment in time. Like Egyptian mummies and archeological remains, Davis’s work conveys a historical record through the body. Her sculptures are deeply personal, often an expression of her past traumas and grief. Wilding Cran Gallery, Los Angeles, has hosted her exhibitions Karon Davis: Muddy Water (2018) and Karon Davis: Pain Management (2016). Her work was also featured in Rock My Soul, Victoria Miro Gallery, London (2019). Her work is held in the collections of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; The Rubell Museum, Miami; and Brooklyn Museum, among others.

Karon Davis, Mary, from the series Pain Management, 2016. Plaster, wire, paper, plastic pipe, and glass eyes, 44 x 33 1/2 x 38 1/2 inches. Installation view: Prospect.5 Yesterday we said tomorrow, 2021–22. Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans. Courtesy Prospect New Orleans. Photo: Alex Marks