Sherry davis

 

STATEMENT

My artistic practice is rooted in the transformative power of materials and their potential to inspire change. My work weaves together my Midwestern upbringing, deep agricultural roots, and the environmental consequences of overconsumption.

The use of upcycled denim in my sculptures honor the labor of my farming ancestors and present-day workers, symbolizing resilience and carrying the memories of countless lives. By placing sculptures in their origin landscapes, I intertwine my personal narrative with our collective history. Through this, I pay tribute to hardworking communities and highlight sustainability's urgency, provoking thought and deeper connections between labor, land, and sustainable practices.

BIOGRAPHY

Sherry Davis, a mixed media artist born in Ohio, found her creative pulse at the nexus of the Rust Belt’s decaying industrial landscape, her family’s farmer ethos of thriftiness, and the needlework skills she inherited from her homesteading ancestors. Now splitting her time between New York City and Long Island’s North Fork, Davis’ work resurrects discarded materials — celebrating the material’s former life and weaving it into engaging artwork that celebrates transformation. Davis’s art is a call — not just to remember, but to reimagine — infusing resilience into a world that discards too easily, urging us to find purpose in what endures.

After earning her BFA from Kent State University in Ohio, Sherry earned her master’s degree at Brooklyn College and attended the Art Students League of New York. She has studied with many artists including Sheila Hicks, Barbara Eckhardt, Arline Fisch, Nance O’Banion, and Lia Cook. Her work has been exhibited at many galleries and institutions including the Hudson Valley Museum of Contemporary Art, the Schweinfurth Art Center, the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, and the Atlantic Gallery in NYC. Her rising prominence is evidenced by recent accolades — including being named a Long Island Grants for the Arts 2025 Artist Fellow, receiving a New York State Council on the Arts 2024 Creative Individual Grant (for a major public sculpture and exhibition), and numerous articles highlighting her work.