DAVINA SEMO’S (B. 1981, WASHINGTON, DC) WORKS REFERENCE A POST-INDUSTRIAL WORLD THAT IS DISQUIETING YET INCONTROVERTIBLE. USING MATERIALS SUCH AS ONE-WAY MIRRORS, CHAINS, SAFETY GLASS, REINFORCED CONCRETE AND SPRAY PAINT, DAVINA SEMO SCULPTURES OFFER, AS THE CRITIC BOB NICKAS HAS POINTED OUT, ‘A DISTANCED AND IMPLIED VIOLENCE’, WHILST ALSO BEING ‘CAPABLE OF PURE POETIC GESTURE.

THIS CHAIN PIECE IS FROM AN ONGOING SERIES OF WALL-SCULPTURES THAT ENGAGE MONOCHROMATIC PAINTING AND THE TRADITION OF THE SHAPED CANVAS.
INSTEAD OF TRADITIONAL MATERIALS, DAVINA USES ROUGH AND TOUGH PAINTED CHAINS AS THE CHROMATIC ELEMENT. THIS ALLOWS FOR SUBTLE PATTERNING AND DIMENSIONALITY BUT ALSO SPEAKS TO HER INTEREST IN INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS AS A METAPHOR FOR POWER AND CONTROL.
IN SHORT, SHE’S ALWAYS RIDING THE LINE BETWEEN BRUTALITY AND ELEGANCE. THE TITLES OF THESE WORKS ARE POETIC SNIPPETS OF LANGUAGE TAKEN FROM POLITICIANS, ACTIVISTS, LITERATURE, AND ACT AS A COUNTERPOINT TO THE BLUNT FACT OF THE MATERIALS.

 

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