News

Seen on Campus: Rodin’s Jean d’Aire

Written by: Carolina Adams

February 14th, 2019

Seen on Campus: Rodin's Jean d'Aire
As I progress through my final days as a student at Davidson, I am acutely aware of the most remarkable parts of being a student here. Among the things I’ll miss the most, my daily walk past Auguste Rodin’s sculpture of Jean d’Aire ranks high. Rodin’s sculpture entered the Davidson collection in 1993 on a generous gift of the Pepper Family. However, the story of our Jean d’Aire goes back to the 14th century. As the story goes, during the Hundred Years’ War, King Edward III of England besieged the French city of Calais. Months later and after near starvation,...
Read More

Seen on Campus: Spirit Waves Fountain

Written by: Elizabeth Young

February 6th, 2019

If you’ve ever given or asked someone for directions to the Sloan Music Center, you’ve probably heard of the Spirit Waves Fountain sculpture, more commonly known by students as “the French fry sculpture.” Here we would like to note that, as artist Aristides Demetrios reminds, "you only nickname a person you're acquainted with." That is, here at Davidson, we have become acquainted with Spirit Waves, and have made it our own by nature of its new, affectionate nickname--we acknowledge the sculpture's belonging to our campus and have integrated it into our culture. Spirit Waves Fountain was a gift to Davidson College in 2003 from Dr....
Read More

Seen in Storage: Favorites from the Collection

Written by: Helen Sturm
January 22nd, 2019
Seen in Storage is a periodic blog post where students, staff, and professors identify some of their favorite works from our permanent art collection. Sometimes clever, sometimes funny, sometimes introspective, and always illuminating, these short posts shine a light on the variety of works that inhabit our beloved basement storage area, when not on view in the galleries or in academic buildings. The permanent art collection provides critical learning experiences to the Davidson community and we encourage you to make an appointment to see these works in person. This installment of Seen in Storage is brought to you by Helen Sturm '20....
Read More

“Can this abstract sculpture spur Davidson students to wrestle with tough questions?” in the Charlotte Observer

Written by: Lia Rose Newman

November 8th, 2018

Can this abstract sculpture spur Davidson students to wrestle with tough questions?
Written by Lisa Rab, arts correspondent for the Charlotte Observer. In his quest to capture the shape of wind, Yinka Shonibare started with a hair dryer and a piece of fabric. The British-Nigerian artist sees movement as a metaphor for the migration of people – immigrants, slaves, refugees. He wanted his fiberglass sculpture to convey that movement while appearing weightless, as if it were defying gravity. So he photographed the fabric billowing in the dryer’s artificial breeze. That photo became a mold, which he converted into a 3D image, and then a 3D print. That grew into a larger mold, stretching...
Read More

Digital Art Acquisition Results!

Written by: Elizabeth Young

November 6th, 2018

Olivia Crumm, still from
Written by Elizabeth Young '20 and Isabelle Sakelaris '19 Passing through the atrium of the E. Craig Wall Jr. Academic Center, visitors can’t help but notice the giant video wall often used for presentations and lectures. When the wall is not being used for presentations, you can see a number of digital artworks, initially selected by members of the Art Collection Advisory Committee, as well as by a few Davidson College Faculty and Staff. This year, the Van Every & Smith Galleries hosted a contest to decide which of thirty new works by contemporary digital artists to acquire for the...
Read More

© 2026 Davidson College Art Galleries