Category: News
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Seen in Storage: Rome, from RISD Portfolio
I’ve considered moving abroad after I graduate from Davidson, and have spent time in undergrad exploring different cities I could see myself inhabiting, from Berlin to Amsterdam. Last semester, I had the privilege of studying abroad with Temple University Rome in Italy. The experience was unlike anything I could have imagined it to be. Rome…
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Seen on Campus: Linda Foard Roberts, Signs of Resilience
I was first drawn to Signs of Resilience due to its title, which, I find, provides the work with a sense of intrigue and complexity. Created in 2018, this piece is one of several works by contemporary artist Linda Foard Roberts the Collection. Born in 1961, Linda Foard Roberts is an American photographer and printer.…
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Seen in Storage: John Singer Sargent, Portrait of a Girl
John Singer Sargent, Portrait of a Young Girl, watercolor on paper, 16.25 x 12.75 in. framed, Gift of Gordon Clift Horton Collection, Class of 1942
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Arts & Apps: Seen in Storage
Seen in Storage was such an exciting event because it gave students the opportunity to experience some of the remarkable works within our collection storage. Whenever I browse the racks, I feel incredibly privileged to study each piece up close. I am so glad that other students were able to discover this hidden part of…
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50 Years Later: Davidson National Print and Drawing Competition
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the final Davidson National Print and Drawing Competition—an event that once brought some of the most compelling contemporary works on paper to Davidson College—the Galleries invite submissions from contemporary artists who incorporate different forms of printmaking and drawing into their work of any media. This exhibition honors the…
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Seen in My Room: Leopold Hugo
Leopold Hugo (American, 1863-1933) UntitledBromoil print6 x 7.75 in.Gift of John Waggoner Like many people at the beginning of a new semester, I set out with ambitious plans to decorate my room. However, my enthusiasm quickly turned against me. I crowded my wall with so many things that it began to feel overwhelming, almost chaotic. Now…
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Seen in My Room: Double Portrait
Alex Katz (American, b. 1927)Double Portrait, 1963Lithograph on paper16.575 x 20.875 in.Gift of Jules Sherman Family Although this piece is small and simple, it was my first choice from the ArtMate program. Many people might wonder why I chose a work without color instead of something more aesthetically pleasing or famous, such as a piece…
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Mike Liu ’26 | Luminous Residues
On view: May 1-7, 2026 Reception: Wednesday, May 6, 4:30-5:30 P.M. Artist Statement: This body of work explores the present as what remains of the past and the future as something that is yet to exist but must be actively constructed. This project approaches ontology phenomenologically. Reality is inseparable from our being within it: objects, concepts,…
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Belle Mckissick Staley ’26 | Eternal Spring
On View: March 20-26, 2026 Reception: Thursday, March 26, 2026, 3-4 P.M. Belle is a senior biology and art studio major at Davidson College. Much of her recent artwork has been inspired by a deep interest in animals, their connections with each other, and their connections within themselves. Rather than strictly adhering to one disciple,…
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Adele Oprica ’26 | glimpse of the Earth
On view: March 29-April 2, April 7-8, 2026 Reception: Thursday, April 2, 2026, 11 A.M.-12 P.M. Artist Statment: A human life is a brief moment. We are witness to the vastness of this ancient Earth and then are gone; in other words, we get only a glimpse. My recent artwork has been about facing the awe and…
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Myree Kromer ’26 | CLINCHED
On view: April 11-17, 2026 Reception: Monday, April 13, 2026, 4:30-5:30 P.M. Artist Statement: Checking, the use of physical force, usually with the body or stick, to regain control of the puck or impede an opponent’s movement, transpires in mere fractions of a second. Often, it happens too swiftly for the eye to apprehend its full complexity. Yet, when suspended in…
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Courtney Sanders ’26 | Onion Lover
On view: March 2-6, March 16 & 17, 2026 Reception: Thursday, March 5, 2026, 4:30-5:30 P.M. I am incredibly inspired by quiltmakers and crafters. Traditional Appalachian quiltingpatterns have inspired my own patterns, but primarily I am interested in the act of takingsomething used or discarded and treating it with care. My obsession began with a quilt…
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Hank Willis Thomas: We the People
Click the article below to read the review of our exhibition courtesy of The Taborian.
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Seen in My Room: B.B. King, Lucifer’s Club, Boston
As soon as the list of artworks available for ArtMate was sent out, I began my hunt for the perfect piece. I made notes of about four potential artworks that I wanted in my room. It wasn’t until the day of ArtMate that I felt entirely confident in my choice. Seeing B.B. King, Lucifer’s Club,…
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Seen in my Room: Tulip Table
Russell T. Gordon (American, 1936-2013)Tulip Table, 1973Lithograph on Paper, ed.: II/XXV19.125 x 24.4375 in (48.58 x 62.07 cm)Gift of Lakeside Studio This fall, I participated in Davidson College’s annual ArtMate program, which allows students to borrow artwork from the college’s permanent collection to display in their dorms or apartments. In the weeks leading up to…
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Seen on Campus: “Acquiring with a Purpose: Reimagining Davidson’s Art Collection”
It is no surprise that when Davidson College’s art collection began, it reflected the Eurocentric canon that has dominated art history for centuries. When first-year student Gordon Horton ‘42 organized the first-ever art exhibition on campus, the year was 1938, and the college consisted of an all-male student body, not to mention the lack of…
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Seen in My Room: Rain
Jane Freilicher (American, 1924-2014) Rain, 1986 Lithograph on paper 28.9375 x 22 in. (73.5 x 55.88 cm) Gift of Jules Sherman Family I was drawn to this piece during the ArtMate selection event because of its unique combination of nature and abstraction. Jane Freilicher employs color and line to delineate abstracted forms that suggest a natural…
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Seen on Campus: Hudson River Waterfront at Midtown, 1945
Andreas Feininger (American/French, 1906-1999), Hudson River Waterfront at Midtown, 1945. Gelatin silver print. 30 x 40 in (76.2 x 101.6 cm), framed 32 x 42 in. (81.28 x 106.68 cm), Gift of Chester J. Straub. Located at E. Craig Wall Jr. Academic Center – 2nd Floor. Born in 1906 in Paris, Andreas Feininger became one of the…
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Seen on Campus: Tent–Camera Image on Ground: Rooftop View of the Brooklyn Bridge–Brooklyn Side
Abelardo Morell (Cuban-American, b. 1948)Tent-Camera Image on Ground: View of the Brooklyn Bridge–Brooklyn Side, 2011Archival pigment print on board44.75 x 60 in.Gift of John Andrew MacMahon, Class of 1995 Hundreds of members of our community walk the halls of Chambers each day, but few stop to observe the artworks that bring the building to life.…
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Seen in My Room: Sculptures I
Joan Miró (Spanish, 1893-1983)Sculptures I, 1974Color Lithograph on Paper11 x 22 in. Gift of John Andrew MacMahon ’95 I picked this piece from ArtMate – the student art lending program – because I really love the colors and clean design. There’s something about the way it’s simple but unique composition caught my attention. Even though…
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Seen on Campus: The Warhols
Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987) Fran Lebowitz, Unidentified Man, and Unidentified Woman, no date 8 x 10 in. Gelatin silver print Ladies and Gentlemen (Broadway), 1974 4.25 x 3.375 in. Polaroid Jon Gould and Victor Hugo on a Surfboard, no date 8 x 10 in. Gelatin silver print Gift of the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Project(c)…
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Seen in My Room: Pelé
Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987)Pelé, 1979Polaroid4.25 x 3.375 in.The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. (c) My selected piece from ArtMate is an Andy Warhol Polaroid of Pelé. Pelé (1940-2022) was a Brazilian soccer player, considered one of the world’s all-time greatest (if not the greatest). Here, he is pictured in a Brazilian jersey,…
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Seen in the Galleries: “Justice” and “We The People”
Hank Willis Thomas, Justice (Red), 2021. Mixed media, including U.S. Flags, 39.5 x 71.5 x 2.5 inches. Hank Willis Thomas, We The People, 2025. Mixed media, including decommissioned prison uniforms, 76.5 x 92.5 x 2.5 inches. Currently on view in the Van Every Gallery are two compelling works by artist Hank Willis Thomas: Justice (Red),…
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With These Hands: A Memorial to the Enslaved and Exploited
On October 23rd, 2025, over 700 hundred people gathered on the Davidson College campus between buildings built from bricks bearing the thumbprints of enslaved laborers for an October ceremony dedicating a new memorial in their honor. With These Hands: A Memorial to the Enslaved and Exploited serves as a place to remember and reflect upon…
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A Playlist Of the People, By the People, For the People — A Companion to We the People
Hank Willis Thomas’s new exhibit, “We the People,” comes at a very appropriate time for Davidson College and our nation. Thomas’s sculpture, With These Hands: A Memorial to the Enslaved and Exploited, has finally opened after years in the making, marking a long-overdue recognition to those who were directly affected by the college’s historic connection…
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Seen in the Van Every Gallery: Loving Day
Hank Willis Thomas’s solo exhibition We the People is currently on view in the Van Every and Smith Galleries, and this reflection explores one of several sculptures he created which highlights gesture. Like other smaller works in the exhibition, Loving Day, which Thomas created in 2022, is related to a larger work by the artist which…
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Seen on Campus: Brass Section (Jamming at Minton’s)
Romare Bearden (American, 1911-1988)Brass Section (Jamming at Minton’s), from the “Jazz” series, 1979Lithograph in colors on paper24.75 x 32.5 in.Gift of Carol Quillen, 18th President of Davidson College, and George McLendon It is difficult to capture the essence of sound through visual media. Already is it difficult to translate music into a visual language. It…
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Seen on Campus: Student Curators Take ART300 Learning Beyond the Classroom
Since the spring, the Belk Visual Arts Center has displayed the product of months of learning, critical thinking, and collaboration. On view in the rear of the Missy Boaz Woodward ’78 Atrium, Shades of Separation: Women in the Grey Area represents the combined efforts of fifteen students, mostly current senior art history majors. ART300, or…
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Seen on Campus: Perforated Seascape #2 (Red) Landscape
Roy Lichtenstein (American, 1923–1997)Perforated Seascape #2 (Red) Landscape, 1965Porcelain enamel on perforated steel Located at Belk Visual Arts Center, 1st Floor Hallway Roy Lichtenstein is best known for his bold Pop Art creations from the 1960s, which often feature comic book heroines encapsulated in speech bubbles above fields of Benday dots. However, his work goes…
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Seen in Storage: The Family
Alice Neel (American, 1900-1984)The Family, 1982 31.5 x 27 inLithograph in colors on Arches paper Every fall at Davidson is marked with a dull ache of homesickness. Each year, I forget about this feeling, perhaps burying the emotion, trying to prevent it from resurfacing. Yet, each fall, the absence of my family hangs over my…
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Seen in Storage: Court Avenue Underpass
Amy Namowitz Worthen (American, b. 1946)Court Avenue Underpass, 1982Engraving on Paper14.5 x 12.625 in.Gift of Christopher A. Graf Peering into the organized abyss of Court Avenue Underpass, the sweeping arches draw me into the cross-hatched expanse and a half-oval of light under one of the arches suggests the brightness outside the tunnel which contrasts the…
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Seen in Storage: Antonius-Tín Bui
Antonius-Tín Bui (American, b. 1992)years staining from the inside out / all losses have lifetimes/ we who are made mostly of distance / But, who can prepare you for the past?/ we deal with a permanent voyage, the becoming of that which itself had become / you needed me first, and now I’m shaped like…
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Seen in Storage: From the Reina Sofía to Davidson College
I spent my Fall 2024 semester studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. I enrolled in courses held directly in Madrid’s world-renowned museums: the Prado and the Reina Sofía. While the Prado’s Renaissance and Baroque artworks left me speechless, the Reina Sofia holds a special place in my heart because it features works I had yet to…
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New Acquisition: Liên Trương’s From the Earth Rise Radiant Beings
Liên Trương (Vietnamese, b. 1973)From the Earth Rise Radiant Beings, 2021Oil, silk, acrylic, copper pigment, enamel on canvas72 x 96 in.Gallery Purchase with funds from the Dr. Joan Huntley Art Acquisition Endowment and Lisa Robinson Chidsey ’83 & John Chidsey ’83 Liên Trương’s exhibition, From the Earth Rise Radiant Beings, was on display in the…
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Seen in Storage: Vincent Attends “Homage to Van Gogh” Exhibit at Moma, 1982
Greg Constantine (Canadian-American, b. 1938)Vincent Attends “Homage to Van Gogh” Exhibit at Moma, 1982Lithograph on paper15.25 x 22.75 inGift of Christopher A. Graf Happy National Museum Lover’s Day! Greg Constantine’s playful Lithograph depicts Vincent Van Gogh at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. I remember hearing about Vincent Van Gogh, along with Monet,…
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Amelio Aragona ’25 | Where’s My Nice Bra?
On view: April 24th- 30th, 2025 Reception: Friday, April 25, 4:00-5:00 p.m. Artist Statement: Amelio’s practice pulls from their experiences working as a first responder. Amelio is fascinatedby people in situ, and they search for ways in which irony and humor serve as earnestdepictions of the human condition. In moments of chaos, the southern “bless-yer-heart”social script is…
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Tyler Ramsey ’25 | Adorned Still
On view: May 3 – 9, 2025 Reception: Tuesday, May 6, 4:00-5:00 p.m. Artist Statement: Having grown up with an undiagnosed inflammatory disorder, Tyler’s work is informed by hispersonal distortion of comfort and the pain of remembering his childhood. Tyler’s art attempts tosubvert associations of comfort specifically that of light and softness. Through his interactionswith the materials used, I hope to convey a sense of unease and the desperate struggle tosolve/understand my health issues. Tyler’s practice is a method of self reflection and represents hissearch for closure from a chapter of my life that has brought about so much lasting confusion. Learn more about Tyler’s Art Process Studio Visit: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Van Every|Smith Galleries (@davidsoncollegeartgalleries) Artist Talk: Virtual Tour:
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Seen on Campus: RFK Funeral Train
Paul Fusco, American (1930 – 2020)RFK Funeral Train, 1968 (FUP1968010K003), 1968, printed 2011Cibachrome print16.875 x 20.875 inGift of John Andrew MacMahon, Class of 1995 I TA a class in Chambers, so I see this photograph twice a week when I enter and exit the room. The first time I noticed it, I thought I saw…
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Seen on Campus: Martha Graham – Letter to the World
Barbara Morgan (American, 1900-1992)Martha Graham – Letter to the World, 1940Gelatin silver printGift of Martin Blumenthal Happy International Dance Day! One of my favorite things about visual art is its propensity to encapsulate other fields within it – for example, try looking up “science” or “music” in the gallery’s online collection, and lots of related…
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Seen on Campus: Celebrating Award-Winning Artists’ Work this International Sculpture Day
Happy International Sculpture Day! Each day, Davidson students, professors, staff, and community members alike encounter with fond familiarity the myriad of sculptures which bring to life countless campus spots. Whether working on an assignment in the Wall Center, heading into Commons for a meal, trekking to the library for a study session, or strolling through…
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Evie Mulhern ’25 | Playgrounds of the void
On view: April 9 – 15, 2025 Reception: Thursday, April 10, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Evie Mulhern is a Computer Science and Studio Art double major at Davidson College, originally from Alexandria, VA. Most recently, she has explored mixed media pieces with fine art paper, canvas, glitter, and acrylic paints. Evie is a printmaker and digital artist at heart,…
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La’Nisha Rodgers ’25 | Between Here and Me
On view: March 29- April 4th, 2025 Reception: Wednesday, April 2, 4:00-5:30 p.m. Artist Statement: La’Nisha Rodgers is a senior Studio Art Major and Chinese Studies Minor from Houston, TX. She welcomes you to Between Here and Me, a series of comics. The comics explore the twists and turns of identity—how it’s shaped, tested, and sometimes turned upside-down…
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Seen On Campus: Elijah Gowin’s “Into the Sun 40”
Elijah Gowin ’90 (American, b. 1967)Into the Sun 40, 2009Archival pigment printGift of Malú Alvarez, Class of 2002 When I first laid eyes on this piece of artwork on the wall in Wall, I couldn’t help but be instantly transported to a place that’s practically a staple of the Davidson experience: Lake Campus, or as…
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Seen in Storage: Howard Finster’s Earth, Heaven, Hell
Howard Finster (American, 1916-2001)Earth, Heaven, Hell, 1986Oil on board54 x 16.75 inchesGift of the S. Powell Bridges Family Howard Finster (American, 1916-2001) refers to himself by many names: a Preacher, a Second Noah, and a sacred artist. Originally a travelling preacher, Finster was painting a bicycle one day when a smudge of paint got on…
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Seen in Storage: Bridge
Richard Aberle Florsheim (American, 1916-1979)Bridge, 1977Lithograph on paper12.125 x 20 inGift of Lakeside Studio On a whim, I discovered Richard Aberle Florsheim’s Bridge in the Van Every/Smith Galleries collection. Despite its gloomy, dismal mood, I felt captivated by its simplicity and its ambiguity, as if I was staring out a blurry train window on an…
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Seen in Storage: A Doorway into My Semester in Italy
James McBey (Scottish, 1883-1959)The Doorway, 1925Etching on paper10.75 x 8.1875 inGift of John A. Welsh, III ’59 As I first began to browse the Van Every | Smith collections in search of artwork reminiscent of my semester abroad, I sought a piece with some kind of not merely Italian, but Florentine quality. Not necessarily a…
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New Acquisition: Harmony Hammond’s Emerging Cross I
Harmony Hammond (American, b. 1944) Emerging Cross I, 2022 Mixed media monotype on Twinrocker paper 10 x 13 in Gallery Purchase with funds from the Dr. Joan Huntley Art Acquisition Endowment Harmony Hammond (American, b. 1944) is one of the most influential artists in the Feminist Art movement of the late 20th century. In 1972,…
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Bimal Shahi ’25 | Way of Life
On view: March 19 – 25, 2025 Reception: Friday, March 21, 4:15-5:30 p.m. Bimal Shahi is a senior at Davidson College, pursuing a double major in Economics and StudioArts. He is the first international student to receive the prestigious Malú Alvarez Visual ArtScholarship at Davidson College. Additionally, he was awarded the Youth National Nyo Art Award inNepal…
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Seen in Storage: Flies In The Window, Castletown House, Ireland
Alen MacWeeney (Irish, b. 1939)Flies In The Window, Castletown House, Ireland, from “Alen MacWeeney” portfolio, 197210.5 x 15.375 inGelatin silver printGift of Mr. James R. McNab, Jr. ’66 I spent last fall in the Irish countryside at the Burren College of Art. The school was surrounded by green fields, rocky hills, and cows. On one…
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Seen in Storage: Highlighting Feminist History and Female-Centered Art this International Women’s Day
Today, most of us recognize March 8th as International Women’s Day, yet the holiday was instituted in the United States less than a century ago. Situated within a rich tapestry of key moments in the feminist movement, both the advent of International Women’s Day and its significance are best understood in context. A brief investigation…