TM Davy

Don Christian, 2018
Oil on canvas
66 x 44 inches
Courtesy of the artist and Doren Van Waxter, New York
Value:  $12,000

When artist AA Bronson asked TM Davy in an interview what he sees when he looks in a mirror, he tellingly responded, “I see light, gradients and rainbows…all the light that streams into the room…” Davy — who paints the glow of candles, cigarettes, sunlight, moonlight, and reminds us how light looks when bouncing off skin or glass or fabric — is making MASS MoCA visitors swoon with his stunning, unabashedly romantic paintings that depict intimate moments and relationships of his life. In a traditional “old master” style, he paints friends and fellow artists, such as Don Christian, 2018. One of the stand-outs of The Lure of the Dark, on view through February 2019, this quiet but jarring portrait illustrates Davy’s remarkable mastery of light and color.

About the artist
TM Davy was born and raised in New York City. He holds a degree from the School of Visual Arts. He has had solo exhibitions at 11R, New York (2017) and Exile, Berlin (2011), and has been included in group exhibitions at the FLAG Art Foundation, New York (2017), The LeRoy Neiman Gallery, Columbia University, New York (2016), the 10th Gwangju Biennale (2014), the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (2013), Tate Modern, London, (2010), and Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela (2010). His paintings have been featured in Sarah Michelson’s performance projects at the Whitney Biennial, New York (2012), the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2012), and The Kitchen, New York (2011).  He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.