Intermissions: Devin T. Mays

In his multi-faceted practice, artist Devin T. Mays connects city landscapes, empty lots, and exhibition spaces as he creates poetic gestures of observation and ritual. Whether conjuring sculptures out of found materials, like pieces of concrete, or working with images or sound, his work embraces impermanence and explores in-between states. In Chicago and Houston, the two cities where he has lived recently, Mays has also been developing performances that he describes as “demonstrations,” or as “part poem, part sculpture, part song.” These extended moments of performance are sometimes improvisational, sometimes scripted, and for many of these occasions he brings in musicians or other artists as collaborators.

For two nights at the Renaissance Society as part of the Intermissions series, Mays activates the large resonant gallery space with a new performance, Left, right, down, up. Sound, light, and language become central building blocks here, as Mays brings new elements into the space but also responds to what is already there. A performance can be a sensitive response to a room or a sudden vivifying of its surroundings. A performance can also be a kind of live description: the story of a space, through narrative, musical, or more roundabout means. Mays begins a narrative on Saturday that continues on Sunday, when he will be joined by collaborators Gerrit Hatcher, Bill Harris, and Jordan Knecht. Each night will be in the service of the other.

Curated by Karsten Lund with Michael Harrison.

DEVIN T. MAYS (b. 1985 in Detroit) is an Assistant Professor of Art at Rice University. He has exhibited or performed at gta exhibitions, Zürich; Sweetwater, Berlin; F, Houston; SculptureCenter, New York; Belmacz, London; Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; The Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at The University of Chicago; DePaul Art Museum, Chicago; Regards, Chicago; and The Gray Center for Arts & Inquiry among others. Mays holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University and a Master of Fine Arts from The University of Chicago. Mays currently lives and works between Chicago, IL and Houston, TX.