Spotlight Artist: Jeremy Okai Davis
- laurahanj
- Mar 26
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 26
I’m thrilled to share my interview with Jeremy Okai Davis. I recently commissioned a painting from this gifted artist, whose name I predict will one day be common vernacular in the world of art and beyond.
Following are a few highlights from our 41-minute conversation.
Jeremy Okai Davis (b. Charlotte, NC) received a BFA in painting from the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, NC. Davis relocated to Portland, OR in 2007 where he has continued his studio practice in addition to working as a graphic designer and illustrator. His work has been shown nationally at the Studio Museum of Harlem (New York, NY), THIS Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA), Wa Na Wari (Seattle, WA), and The Rotating Art Program at Portland International Airport (Portland, OR). Davis's work resides in the Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center at Oregon State University and the University of Oregon's permanent collection. Elizabeth Leach Gallery began representing Jeremy Okai Davis in 2019.
Jeremy has been an artist his entire life and calls himself an artist. Words have power. As a child, his passions were art and basketball. When it came time to choose a career path, art was a natural fit. Jeremy says, “I knew that I wanted to find something that was going to fulfill me. Art brought me so much happiness. The feelings that I got when I stepped into art class were completely different than the feelings that I had from going to any other class…it was deeply rooted in me.”
When your art is your work in the world, confidence is key. Jeremy credits his parents for guiding him and modeling how to put passion and energy into one’s work; he fully inhabited the art life from a young age. He’s also confident that he doesn’t know a lot! “There’s so much I can dig into,” he says. “There’s so much more that I need to know. When I want to inform myself, or I get curious about something, the art is the cipher for that. I can use the art to dig into a subject, to educate myself, but also other people. I try to keep my curiosity about the world, about topics, as open as I can. I think this creates a long-standing art life. To be very clear that you don’t know everything; there’s so much more that you can know.”
Art is what heals. Art is what informs. Art is 100% necessary.
– Jeremy Okai Davis
We discussed the difference between an open and closed mind. And why to create art when the world outside can be a dark and dismal place.
For more background on Jeremy’s art, hear his talk with Kevin Kirkwood: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strand-the-story-of-an-artist/id1710982698 Podcast Portrait of an Artist, episode 051.
Jeremy Okai Davis on Art That Speaks to Racism and Healing | Oregon Art Beat:
You can find Jeremy on Instagram: @jeremyokaiart
Elizabeth Leach Gallery: https://www.elizabethleach.com/
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ― Howard Thurman
Love Your Voice & Voice Your Love,
Laura
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