Victor Davson (born 1948) is a Guyanese-born artist living and working in West Orange, New Jersey.[1] Davson is a co-founder of Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art located in Newark, New Jersey.[2] Davson and Carl E. Hazlewood founded Aljira together in 1983 as a non-profit center for contemporary visual art to promote the work of emerging and under-represented artists.[3]
Early life and background
editDavson was born in Georgetown, Guyana, and emigrated to the United States in 1973. He received a BFA from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.[4]
Art
editVictor Davson's subject matter draws from his early childhood in the Caribbean, including issues such as the anti-colonial politics of that region, with inspiration from writers and activists such as Martin Carter, Frantz Fanon, and Walter Rodney.[4] Throughout his career most of his work has focused on painting and printmaking.[5] He has created a series of paintings on LP record album covers.[6]
Davson's creative career, with a concentration on painting, has spanned more than 40 years. He has been featured in many notable institutions, with exhibitions at such locations as Francis Kyle Gallery in London, Rush Arts Gallery in New York, the Bertha V.B. Lederer Gallery, at the State University of New York at Geneseo, the New Jersey State Museum, Jersey City Museum, Newark Museum and the Morris Museum.[7]
| Year | Fellowship or Award |
|---|---|
| 2011 | New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship Award[8] |
| 1997 | J. Paul Getty Trust |
| 1995 | The Wheeler Foundation |
| 1994 | Pollock/Krasner Foundation |
| 1993 | Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper Fellowship |
| 1989 | Prudential Leadership in Culture and the Arts |
| 1988 | Nouveau Noir (in conjunction with Jonction Internacional exhibit, Nice, France) |
| 1986 | New Jersey State Council on the Arts Visual Arts Fellowship |
| 1983 | New Jersey State Council on the Arts Visual Arts Fellowship |
| 1973 | Artist in Residence, The Studio Museum in Harlem |
| 1971 | The Burnham Art Medal—National Painting of the Year Award, Georgetown, Guyana |
Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art
editIn 1983, Victor Davson and Carl E. Hazlewood co-founded Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art, a not-for-profit venture, to promote the work of emerging and under-represented artists.[2] Aljira was located in downtown Newark, New Jersey, and had been designated by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as a Major Arts Organization[9][2]
References
edit- ^ Victor Davson website.
- ^ a b c "About « Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art". aljira.org. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
- ^ "Aljira: About Aljira".
- ^ a b "Biography", Victor Davson website.
- ^ "1978 Gallery Victor Davson BHM Exhibit". The Village Green. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ^ "Black History Month : Victor Davson". www.1978artscenter.org. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ^ Victor Davson, 1978 Maplewood Arts Center. Accessed March 31, 2016.
- ^ 2011 Fellowship Awards, New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Accessed March 31, 2016.
- ^ London, ArtFacts.Net Ltd. "Aljira - Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ - Overview". www.artfacts.net. Retrieved April 6, 2016.