News

This year will be the first time the Van Every/Smith Galleries of Davidson’s Visual Arts Center will have a fully in-person reception for our Annual Student Art Exhibition since 2019, pre-pandemic.  To commemorate, the gallery decided to print posters for the event with the printing press in Dr. Andrew Rippeon’s letterpress lab. Gallery interns Sarah Zhang ’23, Claire Begalla ’24, Molly Smith ’24, and myself worked with Dr. Rippeon, creating the background of the poster by arranging some “cuts” (the blocks with designs on them used in the printing process) that Dr. Rippeon has collected, including animals, plants, and instruments....
Read More

The goal of my art is to depict that, while memory can be ephemeral, one’s core identities can remain stable. Being a Studio Art and Psychology double major, my drawings are heavily grounded on theories that relate to the frailty of memory, such as the modification of memories upon recall and the subjective experience of memory. I am particularly inspired by my proximity with my grandmother and her experience with Lewy body dementia, which is characterized by memory loss, delusions, and paranoia. I draw “portraits” of her using traditional Greek textiles that point to her generation and Greek identity. My...
Read More

My art is a manifestation of my subconscious thought—a representation of the constant conflict between my two selves: the self that so desperately craves structure and order, and the self that is completely incapable of any kind of organization; the self that longs for certainty, and the self that charges blindly into the unknown. On paper surfaces I capture various chemical reactions, balancing precision and geometry as the foundation of my installations. I create my own rendered dyes from foraged materials and react those dyes with various household chemicals, yielding an unexpected color pallet and crystalline, rust-like textures.  My background...
Read More

Sophia Beall ’22 | Body In Time

Written by:

March 31st, 2022

At the intersection of body and machine lies the question of autonomy; who ultimately is in control? My artwork aims to explore the nature of this intimate relationship and the extent to which technology has already taken over our society. Through life-sized moving sculptures with human figure references, I explore the mechanized nature of aging, decomposition, and a life lived. As a kinetic sculptor who relies on motors, gears, and pulleys as well as chance-based movement to create the sense of time unfurling, I draw inspiration from Jean Tinguely, Tim Hawkinson, and Jordan Wolfson. Composed of discarded found objects and skin-like...
Read More

This week, gallery intern Sarah Willoughby ’25 had the opportunity to interview Davidson College alum Daphne Butler Birdsey ’06. Daphne received a B.A. in political science at Davidson College in 2006. After college, Daphne pursued a career in fundraising, including over 13 years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, during which she received an M.A. in Visual Art Administration from New York University. She eventually assumed the role of Deputy Chief Development Officer for the Director's Office. Most recently, she has moved to Williamstown, MA to work as Chief Advancement Officer at the Clark Art Institute. In this interview, Daphne...
Read More