We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lindsy Davis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lindsy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Looking back, the most meaningful project I have worked on is the one that started the journey into Gestaltism theory and perceptual manipulation. In fall of 2013 I started my last year of undergrad studies at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. Three years after my father passed, one of my closest friend’s father also passed. I was lucky to be a Teachers Assistant throughout my final year so I had open access to most areas of the school after hours. While over thinking and letting my hands go on auto pilot in the printshop I pulled a mono-print and it was like nothing I had made before. There was something radiating off the shapes that played with how my brain saw space and depth from the composition. It took me about two weeks of staring at it to figure out that I needed to make at least 50 more to fully grasp what was happening on the surface and in my brain.

Prior to this I was mostly dealing with the figure. I used manipulated gestures and morphed limbs to produce figures looking like how we felt as the self rather than how we looked to others. While being an objective observer to my own inner self portraits I was able to move forward through my grief by seeing how I felt though my works. It was not until that second death, the one of my close friends father, that started the inspiration to no longer see the figure by objectively manipulating it. I was able to see the figure by being the figure; experiencing and navigating this consistently changing landscape.

My friend, who now has also passed on, donated to their father a kidney to help save his life. It did not work and their father ended up passing. This is what pushed me to delve deeper into what I thought I saw in that initial print. So to honor the loss– the consistently changing landscape of our lives, I started feverishly producing works on raw canvas. These works were just harsh black shapes against the pale of the canvas. The compositions that came through those shapes were solely based on associated cues from the mark making. AKA our brain uses various mark making vocabulary to figure out and solve anything not easy known in its visual field.

Once I started this, I could not stop and now, almost a decade later I am still deeply swimming in these concepts. I am consistently researching further and letting my work evolve as my understanding of Gestaltism, nostalgia, and memory evolve. What has been the most fascinating part of this has been learning that a lot of brain science is still new, Gestalt imagery is used in proved concepts, leading me to believe Gestalt theory is not as theoretical as previously thought.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I make fine art. I play with 2d and 3d compositions that play with, manipulate and change their depth as you change your perspective on it. I have been making work for over 15 years and have been delving into Gestalt theory for a decade. My works provide a comfort and surprise by allowing the eye to play with the spaces within the works and changing as the viewer moves.
I am represented in Tennessee by the Red Arrow Gallery.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 2010 my father passed. In 2020 my mother passed. When my father died I was able to use his death as fuel to work harder and seek meaning. That kept me afloat during some of the hardest days in he early twenties. I pushed myself to take risks and be vulnerable, to travel far and gain new insights. When my mother passed just over 2 years ago, well it has not been the same inspiring push to better myself and my concepts. I, without choosing to, have to move forward because time simply does not stop. I have been struggling with a grief I have never known and it has been incredibly difficult to navigate through. Every day can seem like a week and getting in the studio can be like pulling teeth. But with that weight constantly on my shoulders, tying my muscles into knots that force me to rest I still have been able to have a solo show at The Red Arrow Gallery, my first museum show at the Parthenon, followed closely by my second museum show at the Mint Museum, an artist residency in Sewanee TN, and being inducted into multiple collections throughout the country- public and private (Soho House Nashville, Four Seasons Hotel Nashville to name a couple).
I cannot believe what I have been able to accomplish without my bedrock support system there, moving forward is hard, but resilience is a choice.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

More open calls with sliding scale fees, more collecting. Every city that has an art museum should be collecting local artists. No art made is not relevant to our present issues as a society.

Contact Info:

• Website: LindsyDavis.com
• Instagram: @LindsyDavis_

Image Credits
Christopher Wormald (portrait)