Noah Davis painted scenes of everyday life, yet his work appears dreamy, otherwordly. The veiled gazes of his models, the cloudless skies, and the windowless façades imbue his works with a blend of languid beauty and sense of uncanny — like being in a dream where you’re unsure if you’re truly asleep. The settings are at once domestic and unsettling. Davis visited flea markets and combed through private archives and family photos to find his motifs. His paintings often depict people of color in public swimming pools, street scenes, and at home on the sofa. Davis stated that his work is not political (it might be perceived as such because he portrays Black people in everyday situations). He makes normality the protagonist, infusing it with a sense of magic. Since September 2024, Das Minsk has been hosting his first institutional retrospective, in collaboration with the Barbican in London and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Davis’s home city. The exhibition — arranged chronologically — features 60 works from his entire oeuvre, including previously unseen paintings, works on paper, and sculptures. It showcases Davis’s tireless creativity from 2007 until his untimely death in 2015. The performance “In Circulation” will premiere alongside the exhibition, featuring seven singers performing across genres such as jazz, neo-soul, experimental electronics, and dance. The piece explores the cyclical nature of life.
Text: Inga Krumme / Photos: Ladislav Zajac & Stefan Wieland / Credit: Noah Davis, Installation view of the exhibition Noah Davis, DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam 2024, The Estate of Noah Davis; Courtesy The Estate of Noah Davis and David Zwirner; Noah Davis, Untitled, 2015; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Gift of Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis in honor of Jerry Speyer’s 80th birthday, 2020; Geburtstages von Jerry Speyer, 2020; The Estate of Noah Davis; Courtesy The Estate of Noah Davis und David Zwirner
Das Minsk Kunsthaus in Potsdam, Max–Planck–Str.17, 14473 Potsdam; map
Noah Davis until 05.01.2024. In Circulation 22. & 23.11.2024
@dasminsk
