Penchant

Devan Horton

October 26 - November 19, 2023

Artlink is pleased to present the solo exhibition Penchant by Devan Horton.

Please join us for the opening reception on Thursday, October 26th from 5-8 pm!


Penchant

In this series, Penchant, I am exploring our culture's obsession with consumption and waste by analyzing our relationship with garbage. Pulling from an interest in ancient societies and a frustration from finding trash in nature, I saw the evidence that will remain from our civilization's existence. Through the artifacts and artworks left behind by great societies throughout history, we can determine how cultures lived and the things they valued. 

How will future societies view our priorities? What will they conclude about the way we attempted to solve our problems? I believe they will find a society built on convenience and individualism. I paint our blind relationship with the things we throw out to bring a more mindful awareness about the way we consume. Through experimentation with color and texture, threatening piles of trash evoke feelings of curiosity and playfulness while creating a sense of foreboding. I confront my audience with our waste obsession by allowing them to rethink their relationship with the things they consume, while also bringing the awareness needed to confront irresponsible industries about what they are producing in order to fix this systemic issue. 

Penchant bridges the gaps and invites everyone to the same page by demonstrating an immediate level of impact on climate change in our daily lives. It brings to light our relationship with waste in hopes of convincing others that even through the endless social and economic issues compounding around us, our planet is always of the utmost importance. We as a species must work together to preserve its beauty for generations to come.


About the Artist

Devan Horton is a Northern Kentucky artist who creates oil paintings to call attention to the ongoing issue of waste in our culture. Since receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from Northern Kentucky University, Devan has crafted and promoted her artistic career by exhibiting in local and national galleries, including Manifest Gallery, Caza Sykes Gallery, and most recently a solo exhibition of her series, "Penchant", at Buckham Gallery in Flint, Michigan.

While developing her next project, Devan frequently turns to nature, specifically hoping to correct ways in which human activity has corrupted nature. Devan’s most recent work confronts her audience's relationship with garbage in hopes to convince others that even with the endless social and economic issues compounding around us, our planet is always of the utmost importance, and we, as a species, must work together to preserve its beauty for generations to come.