The Fragmented Figure

Works by Najeebah Al-Ghadban, Trevor Davis, and James Gallagher

On view May 15 – June 27, 2021

Transmitter is pleased to present The Fragmented Figure, featuring new collages by Najeebah Al-Ghadban, Trevor Davis, and James Gallagher.

Given the shared traumas of the last year that have affected us all, this exhibition examines what a year of isolation and loneliness has done to the creative process of these three artists. Homebound and removed from the regular activities of daily life in the city, these artists all came up with new working methods and explored new facets of their collage practice.

By focusing on the body, The Fragmented Figure highlights how crucial and important the care of our bodies has become throughout the pandemic. The emotionally charged works feature appendages and the human figure in new ways, raw and vulnerable, unable to escape the pain and suffering we have all endured over the course of the past year.

Najeebah Al-Ghadban’s collages mix paper and assemblage, including thread, flowers, and physical objects, to explore the human psyche. Her recent work is a study of isolation and separation. Fragmented, and mostly female, the solitary figures evoke a range of states, from visceral emotions to more introspective and sometimes peaceful expressions that mark the passage of time.

Trevor Davis’s collages are social and political commentaries on the Black American experience through the lens of personal history, memory, family, and culture. While visiting his family in his hometown—Davis sought refuge from the pandemic and the George Floyd protests—it was the first time he was able to fully recharge and to create collages reflecting this chaotic time. His Disembodied series came out of his visit home and highlights the Black male body, disfigured, and multi-dimensional, in order to expose the tumultuous nature of Black American life in the United States.

Early in the pandemic, James Gallagher attended his first virtual life-drawing session. Starting out as an opportunity to practice cutting the figure, he soon found capturing the fast-paced poses to be a deeply therapeutic experience. Gallagher uses whatever materials are available at his fingertips and works quickly, exploring the human form with this newfound freedom. Long invested in examining the body, these new works show the human form in unique poses, layered and dynamic and full of life.

About the artists

Najeebah Al-Ghadban is a designer, art director, and collage-artist from Kuwait, based in New York City. She received a BFA and MFA in Design from the School of Visual Arts. Currently, she is an art director for Apple Books and previously worked for The New York Times Magazine and Abrams. Her work was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Contemporary Art Platform in Kuwait and has been published in The Baffler, The Atlantic, The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine, amongst other publications.

Trevor Davis, originally from Florida, is an artist, art director, educator, and graphic designer now based in New York. He received his BFA from Savannah College of Art. Davis has worked with brands like Budweiser, ExxonMobile, MetLife, and Microsoft and with agencies like DDB, Havas, and McCann. His work has been published in The Atlantic and The New York Times. Davis teaches graphic design and creative thinking at Abrons Art Center, Urban Arts Partnership, and Young Audiences of New York.

James Gallagher is a Brooklyn-based creative director and collage artist. His work has been shown in galleries in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. His work has been included in Gestalten’s books on collage, The Age of Collage: Contemporary Collage in Modern Art, Volumes 1-3 and Cutting Edges: Contemporary Collage. Gallagher’s work has been published in Elephant Magazine, Juxtapoz, The Paris Review, and The New York Times. He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts and is currently a creative director at SUNY Purchase.