Artist Talk: Davon Brantley

Saturday, June 27 | 1 PM
Join us for an intimate Artist Talk with Cleveland-based artist Davon Brantley as he shares the inspiration, themes, and creative process behind his exhibition Steps Towards Divinity.
Brantley’s work utilizes self-portraiture and psychology to explore the emotional repetition of lived experiences, examining how trauma, identity, race, masculinity, sexuality, life, and death shape our understanding of ourselves and our relationships. Through dramatic compositions and larger-than-life imagery, he invites viewers into a deeply personal mental landscape where the visible and invisible collide.
A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, Brantley is an award-winning artist, educator, curator, and mentor whose work has been exhibited throughout the Midwest, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, CAN Triennial, Indianapolis Arts Center, and Artists Archives of the Western Reserve. He was recently recognized with the 2026 Outstanding Visual Artist Award from Summit Artspace.
The featured artwork in this post, If I Die…, is part of Brantley’s current exhibition on view at 934 Gallery through June 27. Following the talk, guests are encouraged to explore the exhibition and engage in conversation with the artist.
This event is free and open to the public. Come hear directly from the artist about the stories, questions, and experiences that fuel his work.