2020-21 TDG Equity in the Arts Fellowship Exhibition:

Jer’Lisa Devezin, Nitashia Johnson, Kevin Owens

Talley Dunn Gallery
June 12 – August 21, 2021

Talley Dunn Gallery strongly believes in creating opportunities for racial equity in the Texas arts community. The Talley Dunn Gallery Equity in the Arts Fellowship strives to foster the development of emerging Black and Indigenous artists and other artists of color in North Texas, whose artmaking forms the backbone of our cultural landscape.

Talley Dunn Gallery is honored to present the inaugural Talley Dunn Gallery Equity in the Arts Fellowship Exhibition for emerging Black and Indigenous artists and other artists of color. The fellowship provides three artists with mentorship and resources to further their practice and artistic endeavours. The gallery team works closely with fellows to support their aspirations in contemporary art and share knowledge of the inner workings of the art world.

Meet each artist from the 2020-21 Cohort.

Jer’Lisa Devezin

Jer’Lisa Devezin
Do’Knockas / Kinky, Curly, Straight, 2021
Hair, Ceramics, wire, clips
50h x 84w x 5d in
 
Jer’Lisa Devezin
Do’Knockas / Kinky, Curly, Straight, 2021
Hair, Ceramics, wire, clips
50h x 84w x 5d in
 
Jer’Lisa Devezin
Do’Knockas / Kinky, Curly, Straight, 2021
Hair, Ceramics, wire, clips
50h x 84w x 5d in
Jer’Lisa Devezin discusses the intentions behind her sculptures and material choices.
Jer’Lisa Devezin
B.A.P.S: Keep-her, 2021
Mixed media ceramics
Sculpture: 23 x 14 x 14 inches
Pedestal: 41 x 23 1/4 x 23 1/4 inches
Jer’Lisa Devezin
B.A.P.S: Keep-her, 2021
Mixed media ceramics
Sculpture: 23 x 14 x 14 inches
Pedestal: 41 x 23 1/4 x 23 1/4 inches
 
Jer’Lisa Devezin is an interdisciplinary artist born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Devezin creates mixed media works using ceramics, metal, fibers, and video/performance. Her work addresses stereotypes projected onto Black women, while exploring the intersection of Black womanhood and the effects of social constructs that uphold white ideas of gender and patriarchy. She received her BA from Dillard University in 2011 and earned her MFA from Southern Methodist University in 2019. Devezin currently lives and works in Dallas.

Nitashia Johnson

Nitashia Johnson
To Dream, 2021
Roland Print on Baryta Paper 1″ white border
27h x 40w in
Nitashia Johnson
Juanita J. Crafthouse, 2021
Roland Print on Baryta Paper 1″ white border
28h x 18 1/2w in
Nitashia Johnson
Amen, 2020
Roland Print on Baryta Paper 1″ white border
22h x 40w in
Nitashia Johnson
Topcat, 2021
Roland Print on Baryta Paper 1″ white border
18 1/2h x 28w in
Nitashia Johnson
Cleanse, 2020
Roland Print on Baryta Paper 1″ white border
27h x 40w in
Nitashia Johnson on her upbringing and inspirations, shooting for publications like Dallas Morning News and New York Times, and her recent project, The Beauty of South Dallas.
Nitashia Johnson
Mr. Johnson, 2020
Roland Print on Baryta Paper 1″ white border
16h x 28w in

Nitashia Johnson is a multimedia artist from Dallas, Texas. Her photographic series The Self Publication endeavors to uplift the Black community in showcasing the beauty of her subjects and their stories. Johnson attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, received her BFA from Texas Woman’s University in 2012, and received a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in Art & Design Education from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2015. She is a first-round Sony Alpha Female Creator-in-Residence and the creator of The Smart Project, a creative after school program for artistic teens.

Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens
Five Years from Now, 2021
Charcoal and acrylic on panel
16h x 20w in
Kevin Owens
Stock, 2021
Charcoal and acrylic on panel
16h x 20w in
Kevin Owens
Wayside, 2021
Charcoal and acrylic on panel
16h x 20w in

Dallas-based painter Kevin Owens discusses his theater background, artistic influences and current work.

Kevin Owens
XIII XIV XV, 2021
Charcoal and acrylic on panel
16h x 20w in
Kevin Owens
Cadet Gray, 2021
Charcoal and acrylic on panel
29 3/4h x 29 3/4w in
Kevin Owens
Rose Quartz, 2021
Charcoal and acrylic on panel
29 3/4h x 29 3/4w in

Kevin Owens is a Dallas-based painter and arts educator invested in questions of representation and abstraction. In his work, the artist explores how the world is seen through the eyes of others. His practice reflects on the subconsciously destructive effects of instability on society through the use of traditional painting techniques, drawing media, and gestalt principles. He received his BFA in painting and drawing from Stephen F. Austin University. He was a resident artist with La Reunion, TX and City Square, where he worked on community based public art projects as a teaching artist.