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Mikael Chukwuma Owunna, 4 Queer African Women in the Snow, 2017, Inkjet print on Kodak Pro Endura, gloss finish,24 x 36 in.Gallery Purchase Mikael Chukwuma Owunna, a Nigerian-Swedish American photographer and engineer, explores the black body and queerness and imagines new realities for marginalized identities through his art. In his first monograph published in 2019, Limitless Africans, Owunna challenges the notion that it is "un-African" to be queer. Through his research, he discovered that queerness did indeed exist in pre-colonial Africa, but was suppressed and erased by European colonial convictions of what the African body is capable of and limited...

Jen Ray (American, b.1970)Untitled, 2008Limited edition inkjet print23 7/8 x 31 1/2 in. Gallery Purchase Having interned in the gallery for the past four years, I’ve been a part of countless exhibitions. When I think of the most exciting exhibitions, I immediately recall Jen Ray’s Surrounded by Wolves. I remember the exhibition opening, both raucous and elegant, featured student performers and lots of glitter.  Ray was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, grew up in South Carolina, and currently lives and works in NYC. Her work has been exhibited internationally at such venues as the Kasseler Kunstverein, Germany, Kunsthal KAdE, Netherlands,...

Matthew Brandt (American, b. 1982)Gray's Lake, ID 7, from Lakes and Reservoirs series, 2013Unique Chromogenic print soaked in Gray's Lake water72" x 105"Gift of John Andrew MacMahon, Class of 1995 As an Environmental Studies and Studio Art double major, I am drawn to Matthew Brandt’s works. Brandt’s artistic process and resulting works captivate me.  We are fortunate to have two pieces of Brandt’s work in the collection. Since my first days at Davidson, Gray’s Lake, ID 7, from Lakes and Reservoirs Series, has hung prominently in the E.H. Little Library, and exploring the racks of the collection as a gallery intern,...

Olivia Crumm (American)The World is Breathing, 2017HD videoGallery Purchase Olivia Crumm uses her camera to capture the radiance in subjects some may deem too wearisome to photograph. She was born in Westchester, New York, and received a B.A. in photography from Bard College in 2017. The artist seems to be intrigued by skin as many of her photographs highlight the different features of skin. While her earlier works are in black and white, Crumm has begun to play with muted colors. Currently, she is based in Brooklyn, New York. Crumm has the unique ability to unearth beauty from the mundane....

“Like the gardens which she photographs, Geesaman’s pictures are a telling metaphor for our lives as social creatures: a compound of nature and artifice in which pleasure itself becomes an instrument of control.” Chris Waddington, Art in America, October 1990 Two works (Château Freyr and Belœil, Belgium, both 2004) by prolific American photographer Lynn Geesaman have recently been hung on the second floor of the VAC, adding to the impressive array of publicly displayed pieces around Davidson’s campus. They are on loan from John Andrew MacMahon '95. These chromogenic prints pose a unique challenge to the medium of photography itself,...