July 25–August 29, 2020
Steve Turner is pleased to present Walk the Air, a solo exhibition by New York-based David Shrobe that features new assemblage paintings that were made in the last several months. During that time Shrobe has found solemnity and inspiration from his family and the Black Lives Matter movement. The works are mostly made from repurposed everyday materials sourced from his Harlem neighborhood; Shrobe disassembled furniture, separated wood from fabric and recombined them as supports for and elements in his paintings.
Many of Shrobe’s works bear a relationship to early daguerreian portrait photography, especially the early images of Frederick Douglass. By combining found and repurposed materials with the photographic history of African Americans, Shrobe produces new narratives that feel intimate and personal without being anchored to a specific time or place. Shrobe explains that Walk the Air alludes to the African American folkloric secret language of flight. In these works, he more sharply focuses on his family and the sanctity of that bond during a time of pain, tumult and struggle. This is evident in At A Crossroads, where a mother, father and infant child contemplate the direction they will take while finding solace in each other.
David Shrobe (b. 1974, New York) earned a BFA and an MFA in painting from Hunter College, New York before attending Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He has had solo exhibitions at Thierry Goldberg, New York; Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco; The Sugar Hill Children’s Museum, New York and has had work included in numerous group shows including those at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, Los Angeles and New York; Mandeville Gallery, Union College, New York; Bronx Museum and the Studio Museum in Harlem. This is his first exhibition at Steve Turner.
David Shrobe creates multi-layered portraits by repurposing everyday materials that he finds in his Harlem neighborhood. He disassembles furniture, separating wood from fabric and recombines them as supports for collage, painting and drawing. In doing so, he excavates history to create fragmented portraits that relate to his family history. Many of his works are oval in shape, and with their use of fabric, they bear a faint relationship to early daguerreian portrait photography, especially the early images of Frederick Douglass. By combining the found and repurposed materials of Harlem with the photographic history of African Americans, Shrobe produces new narratives that feel intimate and personal without being anchored to a specific time or place.
Born 1974, New York
Lives and works in New York
Education
2014
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Madison, Maine
2013
MFA, Painting, Hunter College, New York
2009
BFA, Painting, Hunter College, New York
Solo Exhibitions
2020
Walk the Air, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
2019
Picture-Makers, Thierry Goldberg Gallery, New York
2018
Somewhere In Between, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco
Daily Navigation, Thierry Goldberg, Miami
2017
Homegrown, Thierry Goldberg Gallery, New York
2016
Meta-Modes, Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling, New York
2015
Graphic Mythologies, Russ Berrie Pavilion, New York
2006
Shrobe Lights, Danny Simmons’ Corridor Gallery, New York
Group Exhibitions
2020
Black Voices/Black Microcosm, CFHILL, Stockholm, Sweden
2019
Embody, Madeville Gallery, Union College, Schenectady, New York
Untitled, Miami Beach (with Steve Turner)
Punch LA, Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles
Snow Day, Thierry Goldberg Gallery, New York
2018
To Dream Avant-Garde, Hammond Harkins Galleries, Columbus, Ohio
Punch, Jeffrey Deitch, New York
Summertime…, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco
Harlem Perspectives, Faction Art Projects, New York
Aesthetics of Matter, Volta 2018, New York
2017
Bronx Calling: Fourth AIM Biennial, Bronx Museum of the Arts
Harlem Postcards Summer 2017, Studio Museum in Harlem
Uptown, Wallach Art Gallery, Lenfest Center of the Arts, New York
2015
Intersecting Imaginaries, No Longer Empty Lab, New York
2014
Distrust That Particular Flavor, Bitforms Gallery, New York
2013
Three, RFA Gallery, New York
2011
Spirit of Community, Dwyer Cultural Center, New York
2009
Pulse, Taller Boricua at Julio Burgos Cultural Center, New York
2003
Aspects of Urban Life, Rush Arts Gallery, New York
Grants, Residencies and Awards
2017
Artist in the Marketplace, Bronx Museum of the Arts
2016
Fountainhead Residency, Miami
2015
Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling Artist-in-Residence, New York
2014
Artist Teaching Fellow at Joan Mitchell Foundation, New York
2013
Kossak Travel Grant For Painters, Paris
Bibliography
2020
Grayson, Emma. “David Shrobe Repurposes Detritus to Reimagine History,” Art of Choice, August 21
2019
Jovanovic, Rozalia. “Artist David Shrobe Creates His Own World Through Found Objects,” Galerie Magazine, May 24
2018
Sharp, Sarah Rose. “What It Means to Dream Avant-Garde,” Hyperallergic, November 9
Shrobe, David. “One Piece: Celestial Pose,”Bomb, October 23
Collymore, Nan. “Decoding Black Materiality,” C&, October 12
Roth, David M. “David Shrobe @ Jenkins Johnson,” Square Cylinder, October 10
2017
Frank, Priscilla. “Fourth Generation Harlem Artist Challenges What It Means To Be An American,” HuffPost, February 21
Rodney, Seph. “Mocking Materialism with Collage,” Hyperallergic, February 14
Sargent, Antwaun. “An Artist Transforms Debris into Sculptures of Home and History,” VICE, February 1
2016
Wright, Peter “Souleo”. “Up on Sugar Hill: Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling Looks to Neighborhood’s Black History,” HuffPost,
February 29
2011
Mays, Jeff. “Harlem Artist Beautifies Construction Side With Mural,” DNAInfo
Art of Choice: David Shrobe Repurposes Detritus to Reimagine History
