The Philadelphia Museum of Art announces a landmark survey of the late American artist Noah Davis (1983–2015), bringing together over 60 works across painting, sculpture, works on paper, and curating. The exhibition marks the final stop of an international tour organized with DAS MINSK in Potsdam, the Barbican in London, and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Highlights include "40 acres and a unicorn" (2007), "Isis" (2009), "Savage wilds" (2012), and the "Pueblo del rio" series (2014). Curated by Eleanor Nairne and Wells Fray-Smith, the show is accompanied by a catalog co-published by Prestel with contributions from Tina M. Campt, Claudia Rankine, and others.
This exhibition matters because Noah Davis was a visionary artist who captured the intricacies of Black life with tenderness and depth, linking personal and collective narratives in ways that resonate profoundly today. Beyond his art, Davis co-founded the Underground Museum in Los Angeles with his wife Karon Davis, a free cultural center in a historically Black and Latinx neighborhood that aimed to make art accessible to all. His partnership with MOCA to lend works from their collection and his unrealized plans for 18 exhibitions underscore his enduring impact on how art is viewed, bought, and made. The survey ensures his legacy reaches new audiences and affirms his place in contemporary art history.