Damien Davis (b. 1984) is a Brooklyn-based artists, born in Crowley, Louisiana and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. His practice explores the historical representations of Blackness by unpacking the visual language of various cultures, questioning how societies code/decode/recode representations of race through craft, design and digital modes of production. His work has appeared at The Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Arts and Design and various galleries across the country, most recently including solo exhibitions at Charlie James, Los Angeles, CA and Mrs., Maspeth, NY. He is the recipient of the Rema Hort Mann Foundation Community Engagement Grant and has been awarded residencies with Dieu Donné, Triangle Arts Association, the Museum of Arts and Design, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Pilchuck Glass School and Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling. Davis is also a former fellow and current advisor for the Art & Law Program in New York City, as well as a board member for the Fire Island Artist Residency. His work has been mentioned in the New York Times, Frieze Magazine, The Guardian, Hyperallergic, Vulture Magazine, and NYLON. Davis is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Purchase College (SUNY).
Davis holds a BFA in Studio Art and an MA in Visual Arts Administration from New York University.