Tyler Davis
You Think You Know Me?! by Tyler Davis
August 9 – September 13, 2024 @ SEEN Studios
OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, August 9, 6 – 10 PM during Franklinton Friday
Additional viewings by appointment
Artist Statement
I’ve had this project in my head while I was at Columbus College of Art and Design where I made a short zine called “American Boy.” I filled it with sketches of my close friends with short journal entries talking about my current feelings about the racial microagression “All black people look alike.” I used to get mad at being told I look like someone else. I would feel unimportant, they weren’t seeing me, I felt wrong. During my mental health transition I thought a lot about why I’ve let something bother me so much and how that translates to other aspects of myself. Using a projector, acrylic paint, and sharpie I aim to “face” these men/situations/moments/emotions/conflicts and figure out the root of it all for myself. I really want to inspire others to make work from any facet of their life. When I work with no limits I feel myself flourish.
Artist Biography
Tyler Davis was born and works in the South End/ Side of Columbus, OH. In 2014 he graduated from Fort Hayes Metropolitan High School where he was a part of the National Art Honor Society, AP Art, and studied in the Fort Hayes Career Center program for Art Portfolio where he won awards at the 2014 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. 2019 found him finally graduating from Columbus College of Art and Design where he received his BFA in Fine Art and also won an award from the 2018 AICUO EVA’s and The Lowel Tolstedt Scholarship in 2017. As of 2021, Tyler was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder which landed him in a few behavioral hospitals. Since then Tyler’s work has shifted to an even more vulnerable side of himself trying to fifind ways to put visuals to his “demons,” restarting and picking up a new practice, and focusing on black men’s mental health. Continuing to use paintings, silkscreen, and collage to bring satire to issues, employing the micro to address the macro.
