In the Ultimate I Dwell is an exhibition of portraits and figures by Mississippi-based artist Shuriya Davis. Nine large canvases depict figures enmeshed in their environments, emerging from swirling expanses of color and exuberant brushwork making them at times indistinguishable from the paint itself. Like a lotus that blooms from the deepest mud, Davis transforms the inanimate muck of painting into individuals expressing grief, suffering, compassion, and jubilation.
With historical links to artists like Bob Thompson and Willem DeKooning, Davis draws upon a historical tradition in which psychic and expressionist struggle is examined within the canvas. An inner world is always in dialogue—and often in tension—with an outer world. In these works Davis also draws upon The Heart of The Buddha’s Teaching by the venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, who teaches many of the precepts of Buddhism while speaking directly to his experiences as a practitioner during the Vietnam War. Thich Nhat Hanh’s crucial voice in the movement for people’s liberation provides a backdrop for the themes explored in Davis’ work.
Shuriya Davis (b. 1996) is a painter based in Byram, Mississippi. Her work investigates the complexities of sentient existence, impermanence, the nature of the soul, and the inherent emptiness of phenomena. She received an MFA from Mills College in 2022 and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 2018. Her work has been exhibited at STARS, Los Angeles, CA; Jan Kaps, Cologne, Germany; Derosia, New York, NY; Nahmad Contemporary, New York, NY; The Warehouse, Dallas, TX; and Bureau, New York, NY.
