JAMESTOWN, R.I. — Two solo exhibitions opening Sept. 12 at the Jamestown Arts Center will examine themes of ancestry, cultural memory and perseverance through distinctly different artistic lenses.
Pittsburgh-based artist DS Kinsel’s “Bohemian Ossuary” and Providence-based artist Becci Davis’ “Bloodstone + Home” will run through Nov. 8, with an opening reception and artists’ talk scheduled for Sept. 12 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Curator Brooke Erin Goldstein said the exhibitions, while technically and aesthetically different, represent “different sides of the same coin” in their exploration of legacy and remembrance.
“Davis is ‘flattening the timeline’ while Kinsel expands it,” Goldstein said. “This understanding sparked the vision for these shows to be presented simultaneously.”
In the main gallery, Kinsel’s “Bohemian Ossuary” features more than 50 paintings and sculptural totems created over five years. The work draws on funerary artifacts and ancestral iconography, with the artist meditating on the Latin phrase “memento mori” — remember you must die.
The exhibition transforms the gallery into a symbolic ossuary using simple symbols and totemic forms to encode narratives, with repeated brush strokes serving as “incantations to conjure a resurrected community,” according to the artist’s statement.
In the center’s smaller gallery, Davis’ “Bloodstone + Home” examines her southern lineage and slavery’s complex legacy on American domestic life. The work combines contemporary and archival images through collage and layered visual storytelling.
Davis, who describes her process as “flattening the timeline,” juxtaposes the natural beauty of her ancestral land with bureaucratic documentation of historical trauma, challenging viewers to examine both personal and national narratives.
Kinsel is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist whose work spans painting, collage, performance and street art. He co-founded BOOM Concepts, a Pittsburgh creative hub that was recognized as a Pittsburgh Cultural Treasure by The Heinz Endowments and The Ford Foundation in 2021.
Davis, originally from Georgia, creates what she calls “personal geography” through research-driven accumulations of text, image and performance. She has received the Rhode Island Humanities Public Humanities Scholar Award and fellowships from the RISD Museum and Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.
The exhibitions are supported by the Exposure Artist Program of The Pittsburgh Foundation and BOOM Concepts.
The Jamestown Arts Center is located at 18 Valley St. in Jamestown. For more information, visit the center’s website or call for gallery hours.