Ben Vereen’s son-in-law, Noah Davis, dies at 32
Noah Davis, 32, painter and installation artist, known for establishing the Underground Museum in Los Angeles, California succumbed in his home on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015.
Noah Marcus Davis was born in Seattle, Washington on June 3, 1983, to Keven Davis, an attorney, and Faith Childs-Davis, an educator. His father, Keven Davis, was instrumental in negotiating the largest endorsement contract signed by female athlete, Venus Williams, for $40 million dollars for five years with Reebok. Davis’ father preceded him in death in 2011 at the age of 53.
Davis’ interest in art began very early in life. He had a full studio at the age of 17. By the age of 29, he founded the Underground Museum. The museum recently established a unique curatorial partnership with LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Davis’ died from complication to a rare cancer occurred on the same day that an installation of his work “Imitation of Wealth” opened at the museum. The show is about desire and what you can’t have – everything in the show is an imitation of a very famous art work. When Davis’ first started the museum, he wanted to bring quality art to his neighborhood, but no one would lend him any museum quality art, so he made it himself and called the show, “Imitation of Wealth.” ‘Imitation of Wealth’ is an allusion to Douglas Sirk’s movie Imitation of Life, in which the protagonist is a young woman who leaves her African American family to go into the white world.” Davis’ imitation of one single piece of art work is worth $1 million – valued the same as the original art piece.
He was best known for his paintings of African Americans. His work was also included in the collections of the Studio Museum of Harlem, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum, and the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.
“In losing Noah Davis at this juncture, we lose a possibility, and I think we all know that, and that’s what’s so devastating about the loss,” says Helen Molesworth, curator with the LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art.
In addition to his mother, he is survived by his brother, Kahil Joseph, noted filmmaker and video artist, his wife, Karon Vereen Davis, daughter of actor Ben Vereen, and his son, Moses. –cara pearson
