Bruce Davenport Exhibition Opens @ John Hope Franklin Center

March 17 - May 14, 2011

Bruce Davenport Jr. -- All I Need Is 1 Pen
-- An exhibition of Works on Paper --

Exhibition Curator, Diego Cortez

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Thursday, March 17, 12:00 - 1:00 PM, John Hope Franklin Center

Artist Bruce Davenport Jr. interviewed by professor Mark Anthony Neal on Left of Black, Franklin Center, Room 240

Thursday, March 17, 5:30 - 7:00 PM, John Hope Franklin Center

Opening reception for All I Need Is 1 Pen, an exhibition of works on paper by New Orleans artist, Bruce Davenport Jr.

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On view at the Franklin Center Gallery will be the exhibition All I Need Is 1 Pen, a show comprised of works on paper by Bruce Davenport Jr. as well as a short video from the upcoming Richard Barber film The Whole Gritty City, which documents both the marching band culture of New Orleans and Davenport Jr.'s artistic work in response to that culture. Davenport Jr.'s work is on the cusp between folk art and contemporary art and seems to undermine the terminology of both worlds.

Bruce Davenport Jr., son of a preacher and community activist, was born in New Orleans in 1972, grew up at the 6th Ward Lafitte Projects, and currently lives in the now infamous Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. Throughout his schooling he was involved with the junior high and high school marching band cultures which are a major force in Mardi Gras and the overall musical culture of New Orleans. Following Hurricane Katrina, and the devastation to the city and its schools, about half of which remain closed today, Davenport Jr. decided to document the past glory of this unique culture in his drawings. Davenport Jr.'s work has been featured in many exhibitions in the U.S., including at the C.A.C., New Orleans, Dieu Donne Gallery, NYC, Lambent Foundation, NYC, Martin Luther King Jr. Library, New Orleans, Prospect 1.5 and Prospect.2 (Dan Cameron, Curator), New Orleans, AS IF Gallery, NYC and Ballroom Marfa, TX. His work has been collected by major collectors throughout the world. He has donated his works to many of the schools and libraries in New Orleans.

Bruce Davenport Jr. is represented by AS IF Gallery in New York (www.asifgallery.com). Diego Cortez is an independent curator based in New York. More information can be found at www.lostobject.org.