Anna U Davis

Anna U Davis (born 1975) is a Swedish-American visual artist based in Washington, D.C. Her work frequently depicts gray-toned figures she refers to as "Frocasians", which have been discussed by critics in relation to race, gender, and identity. Davis has exhibited at venues including the Swedish American Museum in Chicago, the House of Sweden in Washington, D.C., and Davis Gallery in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Early life and education Anna U Davis was born in Lund, Sweden, in 1975. She is based in Washington, D.C. She studied painting at the University of the District of Columbia, where she was a student of artist Manon Cleary, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002.

Artistic style Davis works primarily in mixed-media paintings that combine acrylic paint, ink, cut paper, pumice, and appliqué textiles. Her compositions frequently feature gray-toned figures she refers to as "Frocasians". Reviews and interviews have described these figures as addressing themes of race, gender, and identity. Writing in Washington City Paper, Stephanie Rudig described Davis's work as depicting female figures in surreal scenarios that engage themes of race and gender. In an interview with IA&A at Hillyer, Davis cited Frida Kahlo, Keith Haring, Romare Bearden, and Antoni Gaudí as influences on her work.

Career Road to Recovery is a series developed by Davis in response to her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. The works depict gray-toned figures and reference illness and recovery. A review from The Washington Post described the series as addressing experiences related to illness and recovery through figurative imagery. In 2020, the journal Feminist Studies published a feature titled "Anna U. Davis: An Introduction" about Davis’s work.

Davis has held solo exhibitions in the United States and Europe, including at Brentwood Arts Exchange in Maryland, the House of Sweden in Washington, D.C., and Davis Gallery in Copenhagen, Denmark. Works by Davis are held in public collections including the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank. Davis has participated in international group exhibitions, including the 13th Havana Biennial in Cuba and Women of the Pandemic at Katara Cultural Village in Doha, Qatar.

Selected solo exhibitions 2024 – Road to Recovery, Brentwood Arts Exchange, Brentwood, Maryland.

Awards and residencies Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (2021) Swatch Art Peace Hotel Residency, Shanghai, China (2023)

Collections DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Art Bank Collection