Part of the Community w/ art collector Kerry Davis
The Postman is here! We got the esteemed collector Kerry Davis joining the Studio Noize fam. Kerry built his legendary collection while working 30 years as a postman at USPS. How impressive is his collection? Well, it’s in the middle of a 5-year national museum tour, and he could have a whole other show from work currently up in his home. The collection includes the biggest names in Black art, from Charles White to Radcliff Bailey, Mo Brooker to Louis Delsarte. The collection alone is enough to discuss, but we go deeper than that. Kerry tells us about the relationships with those names on the wall. Mildred Thomas was his real friend; those personal stories are so great to hear. We talk about how he started touring his collection, got so much incredible work, and all the artists he met and got to know on his journey. Another great episode with that good art talk for you. Listen, subscribe, and share!
Episode 176 topics include:
buying art vs collecting art
getting to know artists
Mildred Thomas stories
helping Louis Delsarte in his studio
meeting artists as a postman
organizing a collection
developing an “eye”
touring the Davis collection
how to handle a big collection
appreciating printmaking
Betty and Kerry Davis in their home
“It’s been called “a museum in a home.” The private collection of art amassed by Kerry and C. Betty Davis over nearly 40 years is one of the richest collections of African American art in the world. The Davises – a retired postal worker and a former television news producer – have invited friends, neighbors, church members and their children’s friends into their home to see their art.
Now they are sharing their extraordinary collection with a wider audience. “Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art” opens Feb. 4 through May 14 at the Taft Museum of Art.
The exhibition features 67 of the more than 300 works that grace their suburban Atlanta home. It includes Romare Bearden’s colorful portrayal of a jazz quartet, photographer Gordon Parks documentation of racial disparity and abstract pieces by Sam Gilliam, Norman Lewis and Alma Thomas. The show spans from early Black pioneers, such as Elizabeth Catlett and Jacob Lawrence, to contemporary artists.” -Janelle Gelfand
Presented by: Black Art In America
Jamaal Barber: @JBarberStudio
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