While District neighborhoods continue to change due to gentrification, painter Marilyn Gates-Davis captures the feeling of community in her exhibition “Where We Once Belong: DC’s Development and Disappearance,” now at the Amy Kaslow Gallery in Bethesda, Maryland, until Sept. 13.
Each painting features a clear story about representing different aspects of life, such as the pieces “Two Old Dudes,” which is exactly as it is titled, and “Sit Still,” showing a mother doing her daughter’s hair on the front steps on a nice day.
“I wanted every generation and gender to be represented. From elderly men and women to young boys and girls,” said Gates-Davis about what is captured in her paintings. “Each figure reflects the diversity of the community and the people who once called these neighborhoods home, doing everyday activities.”
The artist also honors District neighborhoods and infrastructure.
“Having lived in the D.C. area for nearly 40 years, the row houses pay homage to those along New York Avenue, a familiar sight I passed daily and that remains part of my memory and connection to the city,” said Gates-Davis.
Gates-Davis also said some of the paintings in her exhibition were pre-development scenes based on the Barry Farm community in the Anacostia area of southeast D.C. She uncovered the Barry Farm idea during her research, but reimagined it with artistic license, keeping some of Barry Farm’s unique architecture. Other settings combine imagery from Washington, D.C., and other urban communities.
Gates-Davis will participate in an artist talk with Sabiyha Prince, Ph.D as part of Kaslow Gallery’s K/NOW session called “Gentrified Washington: The District’s Development and Disappearance” on Wednesday, Aug. 19, from 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Amy Kaslow, founder and owner of the gallery where Gates-Davis’ paintings are now on exhibit, explained she was attracted to the artist’s painting during an exhibition at Glen Echo Park Labor Day Art Exhibition in Montgomery County, Maryland. The gallery-owner said she could not stop looking at Gates-Davis’ work.
“Marilyn’s back-in-the-day cast on her painting made me stop and look for a long while,” said Kaslow. “The works Marilyn Gates-Davis created for our Amy Kaslow Gallery exhibition put us precisely where Marilyn wants us to be, back-in-the-day.”
Kaslow Gallery, located at 7920 Norfolk Avenue in Bethesda, Maryland, is open Tuesday to Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
