For The Armory Show 2024, PLATFORM, curated by Eugenie Tsai, Wilding Cran Gallery is pleased to present Sable Venus, 2016-2024, by Karon Davis.
Davis’s sculpture references both Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, and the poem Voyage of the Sable Venus by Robin Coste Lewis. Sable Venus, rendered in plaster (created over the course of the past 8 years) depicts the life-size figure of a woman inside of what appears to be a clamshell, or the crest of a wave. Painted in gold, the nude woman lifts her right hand up, as though lifting the veil of her enclosure, her legs slightly bent at the knees; a long cascade of braids fall down her back, each one fastened with individual puka shells.
Throughout her practice, Davis’s use of plaster alludes to a deep interest in the materials of the ancient world (particularly ancient Egypt and mummification rituals). By using the plaster medium and the process of live casting, Davis seeks to not only capture a fleeting moment in time, but to eternalize the spirit and countenance of her models.
