ABOUT CARISHA
Carisha Davis is a contemporary abstract expressionist artist from Dallas, Texas. Carisha is a lifelong creative and began her journey in art and design from an early age.
She went to school to study English and kinesiology, and right after graduating became a public school English teacher and basketball and soccer coach.
But alongside teaching and coaching, she was still creating. And in 2013, she decided to start a design business with $5,000 and a prayer. She began her business providing interior design and furniture restoration and redesign services, as well as creating textile and home decor designs. After a very successful run in the design world and following years of casually painting, she finally decided to begin promoting her artwork in 2017 when she retired from teaching English and coaching. She then began teaching art. While teaching elementary art and working to inspire her own students to believe in and exhibit their artwork, she finally felt the freedom to be vulnerable with her own artwork. She first exhibited her artwork in 2018, and then shortly after found her work on the shelves of luxury retailers- West Elm and Nordstrom. And in the next few years, she began exhibiting her work in galleries across the country.
Carisha currently resides in Dallas, Texas. She is also a full time professor of English, American Literature and Creative Writing.
“My entire journey as a business owner and artist has evolved because of taking risks. Vulnerability is key for artists and creatives. When we share our art with the world, we risk it all. But, if we don’t put it out there, then how will it ever be seen? Sometimes people love your work. Sometimes people will denounce your work or you as an artist. And that’s ok, too. You can let the negative noise deter or discourage you from creating, or you can use it as fuel. I decided that my worth, my value and my artistry are never up for debate. I believe in my work and I leave it all on the court with every single painting, exhibition, project and design.”
-Carisha Davis-
I consider my art bold expressionism- evoking emotion with the use of bold strokes and bright colors. In my artwork, I aim to make sense of the atypical and make the art elements of line, color, shape and value malleable in unique ways to bring forth visual harmony- sometimes representational, yet oftentimes abstract. Just as expressionists of the past, I strive not to depict objective reality, but instead to evoke subjective response and emotion.
“What I love in art is that it takes known combinations and reorders them in a way that sheds light on something that they have never seen before or allows them to consider the world in a slightly different way. Artists provide questions, not answers. We provide provocations rather than fully formed objects.”
-Kehinde Wiley