Art by Gwen Davis-Barrios

Gwen Davis-Barrios is curious about how it feels to be afraid of and at home in the world. "I love walking alone at night. Darkness magnifies every sound and sharpens my senses. Reflected ambient and artificial lights create a space that doesn’t exist in daylight. The distance recedes to roiling shapes masked in black. On night walks I understand the principle that black is full of colors. However, when I walk at night my brain projects footsteps padding along half a block behind me in the darkness. The love I feel for my surroundings at night is silently accompanied by the sinking terror of possibility for danger. This complicated love draws me into the natural world and makes me ask questions about it."

Gwen obtained her BFA from Brigham Young University in 2020 and is currently located in Los Angeles. Her recent exhibitions include “Homes and Graves and Gardens” at Finch Lane Gallery in Salt Lake City, Utah, the “46th Annual BDAC Statewide Competition” at the Bountiful Davis Art Center, Utah,  In 2021 and 2022 she was an artist in residence at Neighborhood Art Center in Provo, Utah.