Gloria Gammage Davis is a Philadelphia mixed media artist and holds a BFA from Cheyney University. She first discovered her artistic abilities in elementary school when she carved a lamb out of a bar of soap. Later an aunt taught her to sew. Over the years Davis added sculpting, beading, art quilting, knitting, crocheting, painting, print making, lapidary, and polymer clay to her repertoire.  

She has exhibited at the African American Museum in Detroit, the North Carolina City Hall, the Underground Railroad in Cincinnati, the Joan Mondale Gallery at the Textile Center in Minneapolis, the James Museum in St. Petersburgh, FL, City Lore Gallery in New York City, Pendle Hill, Delaware County, PA and in Philadelphia at the Colored Girls Museum, Morton Contemporary Gallery, Imperfect Gallery, and Johnson House. Solo exhibitions include Scribe Video Center in Philadelphia, Foulkeways at Gwynedd, the African American Heritage Museum in Atlantic City, Philadelphia Assembly in the Crane Arts Building, and Allens Lane Art Center.

Davis’ work is featured in several books: We Are the Story; Black Pioneers;The Calling; As Long as I have Breath in My Body; In the Land of Sowing and Sewing; and Counter Narratives, Resistance and Resilience.

Davis has taught art classes at the Philadelphia Free Library, Wynnefield Resident Association, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Nile Swim Club, Fleisher Art Memorial, Peters Valley School of Craft, and Johnson House.  

Artist Statement

My art reflects a combination of self-taught techniques and formal education. I consider myself a mixed media artist leaning toward quilting, although that is changing as I become more comfortable with sculpting, beading, knitting, crocheting, and painting. Lately, print making has caught my attention. No matter the media, my work will usually tell a story, often the story of a significant person or event in Black history.

In the last few years, I have been incorporating found objects, which allows me to consider the environment by reusing items. I am challenged to create something different from the objects’ intended use. A doll may have a bottle for its armature. In one quilt piece, I have given my sculpted ceramic face a crown made from a combination of an inverted wooden cake plate and a slotted wooden handbag.  

My latest projects have been art quilts made in response to quilt calls for artists. These quilts have forced me to expand the way I create art because they tell stories requiring research into the history of the person or theme to complete them.