Project Overview
Double Take | Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
Drawing on a strong sense of color, texture, and space, Alonzo Davis and Pinkney Herbert envisioned an entry that captures the spirit of the library as a place of intrigue, fancy, and language. Their design, titled Double Take, creates a maze-like design that mirrors itself on each side of the vestibule floor.
About the Artists
Alonzo Davis
A Memphis, TN artist, Davis’ choices and world views have been inspired by travel. “Through travel, I seek influences, cultural centers, energies, new terrain, and the power of both the spoken and unspoken. The magic of the Southwest United States, Brazil, Haiti, and West Africa has penetrated my work. Southern California, my home for thirty years, has also had an indelible impact and the colors and rhythms of the Pacific Rim continue to infiltrate,” says Davis.
The artist makes art for exterior and interior spaces—both large and small scale. Works range from free-standing and suspended sculptures to wall and floor installations. Bamboo, wood and paper, layered color, and burned-in patterns are his hallmarks.
Pinkney Herbert
Pinkney Herbert, Memphis, TN, was born in Charlotte, NC in 1954. He received his BA from Rhodes College and his MFA from the University of Memphis. Mr. Herbert is the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and USIA-Arts America. He has participated in numerous art exhibitions throughout the US, Europe, Japan, and Southeast Asia. His art is in the permanent collections of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans Museum of Art, Memphis Brooks Museum, the Arkansas Arts Center, and the Allentown Art Museum. He is represented by David Lusk Gallery, Memphis/Nashville, TN; Sandler Hudson Gallery, Atlanta, GA; and Greg Thompson Fine Arts, Little Rock, AR.
In the Fall of 2012, Mr. Herbert taught painting and drawing at the University of Georgia Study Abroad Program in Cortona, Italy. He has taught at the University of Tennessee, the Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts, Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont School, the University of Memphis, and the Memphis College of Art. He has been a visiting artist at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts, Hanoi University of Fine Arts, and the Oberfalzer Kuntzlerhaus, Schwandorf, Germany.
