Deb A. Davis

Artist I Professor

Davis received her photography M.F.A. in 1991, from the University of Colorado, Boulder and an M.S. Ed., in instructional technology, media production from Northern Illinois University in 1984. She is the former director of the School of Visual and Performing Arts, 2016-2018, and served as dean for the visual and performing arts at The University of Toledo, from 2010-2016. She has received various awards throughout
her career for her works and her professional service.

She exhibits photographically-based art, both nationally and internationally. Her most recent international exhibit was in collaboration with Michael Petry, titled “Golden Rain.” Davis’ work titled “essence,” was incorporated into Petry’s “On the Edge,” at the Eigeroya Lighthouse in Egersundin, Norway. The work is in the collection of the Palm Springs Art Museum.

Davis also served as the principal grants investigator and co-curator for the international art project, “Cultural Domestication - Instinctual Desire.” You can find more information about this international global exchange through the arts at the project website,
cd-idczechart.utoledo.edu.

Artist Statement

First trained as a studio artist, I came to photography in my master’s program at CU, Boulder. Never honoring the purity of photography, I have always mixed, combined and blended my work with traditional, artistic approaches, as well as video installation, printmaking, encaustics, and painting. 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.”