Artist Statement

Anna U Davis creates mixed-media works centered on her signature gray Frocasian figures—characters developed through her personal experience in an interracial partnership. This perspective informs her exploration of cultural duality, belonging, and the intersections of race, gender, and power.

The Frocasian figures challenge traditional constructs, acting as vessels to examine identity, social justice, and systems of power. Davis’s compositions are layered in both material and meaning, combining meticulously cut paper, ink, acrylic, textiles, pumice, and collage.

Her work balances pop-art aesthetics with social commentary, consistently addressing themes such as gender equality, surveillance, ecological resistance, mental health, and gendered labor. Playful and graphic on the surface, the works invite viewers in with rhythm and color, then reveal deeper questions about inequity and resilience.

“Davis’s Frocasian figures are among the most distinct visual languages in contemporary feminist art—bold,

unapologetic, and richly allegorical.”

— Feminist Studies Journal 2020

Materials & Process

Davis’s practice is rooted in a layered approach that fuses acrylic paint, ink, hand-cut collage, pumice, and textiles into symbolically charged compositions. At the center of this language are her Frocasian, gray-toned figures that convey the complexity of identity across race, gender, and cultural perception.

Each work develops slowly and deliberately. Collage elements—patterns, motifs, or fragments—are individually cut and placed, often outlined in paint to blur the line between collage and brushstroke. Hair, expressions, and fine details are drawn in ink for intimacy and precision, while acrylic establishes structure and contrast. Pumice and fabric bring texture and weight, evoking roughness, softness, or embedded memory.

Her black-and-white wall sculptures, made from cut birch plywood in collaboration with her husband, bring the figures into dimensional space. These wall-mounted pieces function as expanded drawings, rendered primarily in ink with acrylic accents to heighten form and presence.

In recent series such as Walkalong and Faze-It! (an extension of the Face It project), Davis has begun to integrate elements of realism into the Frocasian world. Portraits of herself and her husband anchor the symbolic language in lived experience, deepening the dialogue between abstraction and realism.

Across all series, materials are integral to meaning: each layer is intentional, each surface invites close inspection, and the process itself is part of the work’s voice.

Biography

Anna U Davis (b. Lund, Sweden) is a Washington, D.C.–based artist recognized for her bold, interdisciplinary practice. She earned her B.A. in Studio Art from the University of the District of Columbia in 2002. Davis is a two-time recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and has received multiple fellowships from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

She has exhibited at institutions including the Swedish American Museum (Chicago), Galerie Myrtis (Baltimore), Davis Gallery (Copenhagen), and the Embassy of Sweden in Washington, D.C. Her work was featured in the 13th Havana Biennial in Cuba and is represented in collections such as the Swatch Art Peace Hotel, the DC Art Bank, and the private collection of Dorothy Lichtenstein.

Davis’s work has appeared on the cover of Feminist Studies and was the subject of a feature essay in the journal. Her painting Equilibrium was selected for the cover of the COVID-19 special issue. She has also participated in public programming, including a panel on contemporary feminist art at the Hirshhorn Museum.

Anna U Davis — CV Highlights

Education

B.A. Studio Art (Painting), Summa Cum Laude, University of the District of Columbia, 2002
Studies in Practical Philosophy, Lund University, Sweden, 1995

Grants & Fellowships

Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, 2021, 2015
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities: Arts & Humanities Fellowships (2011–2025); Project Grants (2019–2025); Young Artist Program (2006)
Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation, Emergency Grant, 2013

Residencies

ISCP, New York (forthcoming)
Swatch Art Peace Hotel VR Residency, Shanghai, 2023
WIP Gallery, Artisphere, Arlington, VA, 2011

Awards & Honors

Show Award, (Not) Strictly Painting 14, McLean Project for the Arts, 2023
Finalist, Helen Frankenthaler Residency at ISCP, 2023
Show Award, SHIFT, McLean Project for the Arts, 2020

Selected Solo Exhibitions

And Still We Rise, IA&A at Hillyer, Washington, DC, 2024
Road to Recovery, Brentwood Arts Exchange, MD, 2024
Reality Check, Davis Gallery, Copenhagen, 2023; IA&A at Hillyer, DC, 2022; Swedish American Museum, Chicago, 2021
Damsels in Distress, Galerie Myrtis, Baltimore, MD, 2018
Witnesses, House of Sweden, Washington, DC, 2017–18

Selected Group Exhibitions

Women Artists of the DMV, Athenaeum, VA, forthcoming 2025
Democracy in the Crossfire, IA&A at Hillyer, Washington, DC, 2024
A Toast To The Boogie: Art In The Name of Funkadelic, 200 I Street Galleries, Washington, DC, 2024
Legacy: Civil Rights at 60, 200 I Street Galleries, Washington, DC, 2024
13th Havana Biennial, Galeria Carmen Montilla, Havana, Cuba, 2019

Art Fairs (Selected)

Art Vilnius, Davis Gallery, Lithuania, 2024/ 2025
KunstRAI, Davis Gallery, Amsterdam, 2024/2025
Art Herning, Davis Gallery, Denmark, 2024

Collections

Swatch Art Peace Hotel Collection, Shanghai
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank
Dorothy Lichtenstein Collection (U.S.)
Additional private collections (U.S. and Europe)

Talks / Panels

Art x Female Empowerment, State of the Arts Night, Hirshhorn Museum, 2023

Bibliography (Highlights)

Washington Post (Chris Kelly, 2024; Mark Jenkins, multiple years)
Contemporary Lynx, 2024
Feminist Studies, cover + feature essay, 2020

Support the Practice
If you would like to support the ongoing development of my work, you can make a contribution directly. Every donation helps sustain the studio and makes new projects possible. Thank you for being part of this journey.

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