Alonzo Davis

Feb 22

Alonzo Davis’ (b. 1942, Tuskegee, AL) six-decade-long career has explored a wide range of media and methods, from mural to print, painting, sculpture, performance, and installation.

As co-founder of the Brockman Gallery, the first major Black-owned contemporary art gallery in Los Angeles (1967 - 1990), Alonzo Davis sought to champion Black artists including David Hammons, Suzanne Jackson, Betye Saar, Senga Nengudi, Noah Purifoy, and John Outterbridge, among many others, in a time when white, male art was prevalent. Davis’ appreciation and promotion of Black artists and cultural references collected on trips all over the world are often referenced in his own work.

Alonzo Davis received a BA from Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, CA (1964), a BFA (1970) and MFA (1973) from Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA. Select solo exhibitions include Just Above Midtown Gallery, New York (1975); Modern Nor-disk Konst, Göteborg, Sweden (1979); and Watts Tower Arts Center, Los Angeles, CA (1981). Davis has also been featured in the landmark exhibition Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles, 1960–1980, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; MoMA PS1, New York, NY; and Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA (2012 - 2013); in addition to Eleven from California, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (1972); Synthesis, JAM (Just Above Midtown), New York, NY (1974); Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (1994); and L.A. Object and David Hammons Body Prints, Tilton Gallery, New York, NY; Roberts & Tilton Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2006). Davis’ work resides in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX; National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; and the Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, MO. parrasch heijnen’s recently held a solo exhibition for Davis’s Blanket Series in 2022.

Select Works