Artist Alonzo Davis was known for his public murals, mixed media sculptures, woven paintings, and vibrant prints that combined an array of cultural references that address the African diaspora and shared goals of liberation. Davis was an artist who, after encouragement from his mentor Charles White, worked exclusively in series, repeating motifs to explore them as far as possible. Since his death on January 27, 2025, Davis has been remembered as an audacious visionary, an unrelenting champion of Black artists, and an entrepreneurial spirit. I remember him as an undeniable force, a singular talent who deeply understood the significance of community.
In the wake of the 1965 Watts Rebellion, Alonzo and his brother Dale Brockman Davis launched a space that would become central to the development of the Black Arts Movement in Los Angeles. From 1967 to 1990, the Brockman Gallery acted as a critical nexus for emerging artists of color and contributed to a growing network of Black-run spaces and collections. Alonzo and Dale wanted the gallery to provide “a stimulus for Black young people, serving to make them aware that they have artistic expression in their contemporary culture.” At a time when the mainstream (i.e., white) art world didn’t welcome them, the Davis brothers filled a void, fostering a crucial gathering space for marginalized artists and providing a platform for a number of now widely celebrated artists. David Hammons had his first solo show at Brockman, as did John Outterbridge. The gallery’s non-profit, Brockman Gallery Productions, screened the early experimental films of Betye Saar and supported public projects, including Senga Nengudi’s Ceremony for Freeway Fets (1978), Maren Hassinger’s Twelve Trees #2 (1979), and the 10 murals produced for the 1984 Olympics in L.A.
Soon after joining LACMA in 2023, I began working with my colleague Carol Eliel (now senior curator emerita) to organize an exhibition about the Brockman Gallery and the network of artists who exhibited at this space in Leimart Park on Degnan Boulevard, the site where Art + Practice now stands. Carol introduced me to Dale Davis, who connected me to his brother Alonzo. Although Alonzo is often associated with L.A.—this is the city in which he came of age as an artist, teacher, and gallerist—he lived in Hyattsville, MD, for the last 20 years. Knowing I’d need to understand the impact of Brockman through the perspective of both Davis brothers, I set off for the East Coast to meet Alonzo.
Seen in the above Self Portrait Inside Series, which entered LACMA’s permanent collection in 2024, the arrow had been a frequent motif in Alonzo’s work since the early 1970s. It was a sign for a path or trajectory and typically pointed left, communicating his own political, spiritual, and professional directions. Upon landing in Baltimore, I lifted the blind on my plane window and smiled at the view that greeted me.
Seeing this as an auspicious sign, I shared the above photo with Alonzo, who responded, “Welcome to town! I just sat up and reflected on your visit,” accompanied by an image of the word “Reveal.” He was ready to share, primed to “reveal,” and although I was a bit nervous, he immediately set me at ease with his warmth, generosity of spirit, and wit. During our visit, Alonzo worked alongside his studio assistant while we discussed his family history, his intellectual and artistic journey, his influences, and his work. His responses to my questions were measured and thoughtful, sprinkled with a healthy dash of humor.
Soon after our energizing and inspiring visit, Alonzo agreed to answer on camera a number of questions about Brockman and his work, which has now become one of his last filmed interviews. His words and recollections will be featured in a film commissioned for the upcoming exhibition Act on It: Artists, Community, and the Brockman Gallery in Los Angeles, which brings together works from LACMA’s permanent collection by dozens of artists who exhibited at the gallery. As part of LACMA’s Art Bridges–supported Local Access initiative, Act on It will open at the Museum of Art and History in Lancaster on May 10, 2025, before travelling to the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College and then the University Art Gallery at California State University, Dominguez Hills; in November of 2026, an expanded and reimagined version of the exhibition will open at LACMA.
Act on It takes its title from a print Alonzo made in 1985 as a participant in the Experimental Screenprint Atelier at Self Help Graphics & Art. He created this work as part of his “Voter Series,” which he related to his childhood in Alabama, where members of his family had once been denied the right to vote based on their race, and his experiences of the Civil Rights Movement. He explained, “Many people … particularly in the south, have made great sacrifices to assure the right to vote for all people, and the ‘Voter Series’ is intended to be a nonpartisan motivator and consciousness raiser for all citizens.”
Alonzo’s artistic mission was dedicated to consciousness-raising and community-building, and his life is a reminder that if you want something done, go out and act on it.