Label
Black Gene (Benson) is part of a series focused on Black Americans who navigated complex ideologies of sportsmanship throughout their professional careers. Gene Benson was an outfielder for several Negro League teams including the Philadelphia Stars. He was a member of the Negro League East-West All-Star team in 1940, 1945 and 1946.Label
I’m first and foremost a portrait painter. My work is mostly figurative but I’ve always had a love for Pop Art and Post Modernism so my paintings have those sensibilities from the colors and my usage of text and graphic elements. In more recent years I’ve tried to address more contemporary concerns and tried to focus the work more on my upbringing and the current cultural climate.Label
"Black Gene (Benson) was part of a 2022 exhibition at the Elizabeth Leach Gallery
titled, A Good Sport in which Davis focused on Black Americans in the fields of sports
and academia who navigated complex ideologies of "sportsmanship" throughout their
professional careers.
Several paintings are the largest Davis has ever created for an exhibition and include
incredibly expressive, layered brushstrokes that invite the viewer to focus on every
detail of the portrait.
Ranging from the unrecognized heroes of professional baseball and basketball players
to Kentucky Derby jockeys and college athletes, the artist's subjects possess an
exalted, emotional depth that transmits beyond the painted surface. In this new body of
work Davis's thoughtful and generous considerations of representation, technique,
form and color simultaneously highlight his muses and allow them to embody their own
stories.
Gene Benson was an outstanding outfielder for several "Negro League" teams but
played most of his career for the Philadelphia Stars. He was a member of the "Negro
League" East-West All-Star team in 1940, 1945 and 1946, and was among the best
players of his era."