Deb A. Davis
Artist I Professor
Deb A. Davis is a practicing artist, and former educator and university administrator. Davis exhibits traditional and photographic-based artworks, both nationally and internationally. Her most recent international exhibits were in Rome, Italy, and Budapest, Hungary. She worked in collaboration with Michael Petry on his exhibition titled “Golden Rain.” Davis’ work, titled “essence,” was incorporated into Petry’s “On the Edge” installation at the Eigeroya Lighthouse in Egersundin, Norway. The work is in the collection of the Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, CA. Solo exhibitions have been mounted at various galleries and art centers across the U.S., including Raw Space, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL; Walter E. Terhune Gallery, Toledo, OH; the Cochenour Gallery, Georgetown, KY; and the Kettering Art Center, Kettering, OH. Davis has participated in numerous group exhibitions throughout the United States, including Colorado, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Florida, Texas, and Washington.
She has received two International Faculty Development Awards, to Prague, Czech Republic, from the University Studies Abroad Consortium, the University of Toledo, and a Pace Eminent Scholar Award, Semester in Japan Program, from the University of West Florida. Davis was the curator of “Cultural Domestication: Instinctual Desire, an exhibition of Contemporary Czech art. She also served as the principal investigator for the CD-ID international exhibition and was a recipient of numerous grants associated with the international project, including: a Program for Academic Excellence Award; a Trust for Mutual Understanding grant; an Ohio Arts Council, Arts Innovation Program award; and an Ohio Humanities Council grant. She also served as the creative director and administrator for the exhibition and project, including an international artists-in-residence program.
She is the former director of the School of Visual and Performing Arts, 2016-2018. Davis served as dean for the visual and performing arts at The University of Toledo from 2010-2016 and as chair of the Department of Art from 2007 to 2010. Davis received her photography M.F.A. in 1991 from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an M.S. Ed. in instructional technology and media production from Northern Illinois University in 1984. She has received various art awards throughout her career.
She has received two International Faculty Development Awards, to Prague, Czech Republic, from the University Studies Abroad Consortium, the University of Toledo, and a Pace Eminent Scholar Award, Semester in Japan Program, from the University of West Florida. Davis was the curator of “Cultural Domestication: Instinctual Desire, an exhibition of Contemporary Czech art. She also served as the principal investigator for the CD-ID international exhibition and was a recipient of numerous grants associated with the international project, including: a Program for Academic Excellence Award; a Trust for Mutual Understanding grant; an Ohio Arts Council, Arts Innovation Program award; and an Ohio Humanities Council grant. She also served as the creative director and administrator for the exhibition and project, including an international artists-in-residence program.
She is the former director of the School of Visual and Performing Arts, 2016-2018. Davis served as dean for the visual and performing arts at The University of Toledo from 2010-2016 and as chair of the Department of Art from 2007 to 2010. Davis received her photography M.F.A. in 1991 from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an M.S. Ed. in instructional technology and media production from Northern Illinois University in 1984. She has received various art awards throughout her career.
Artist Statement
First trained as a studio artist, I came to photography in my master’s program at CU, Boulder. I have mixed, combined and blended my photographic work with traditional artistic approaches, video installation, and found objects. I am interested in reinterpreting the photographic image, rendering or embedding my conceptual ideation and multimedia approaches – pushing the boundaries of the image.
I give myself license to explore ideas based on life's circumstances, interpreted through various photographic and traditional materials. My current artistic expressions include: oils on canvas, archival printed photographs, prints, and mixed-media works. They all tell the story of my travels, internal and external, coupled with my increasing need for “slowness.”
First trained as a studio artist, I came to photography in my master’s program at CU, Boulder. I have mixed, combined and blended my photographic work with traditional artistic approaches, video installation, and found objects. I am interested in reinterpreting the photographic image, rendering or embedding my conceptual ideation and multimedia approaches – pushing the boundaries of the image.
I give myself license to explore ideas based on life's circumstances, interpreted through various photographic and traditional materials. My current artistic expressions include: oils on canvas, archival printed photographs, prints, and mixed-media works. They all tell the story of my travels, internal and external, coupled with my increasing need for “slowness.”