The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 13, 2025
Spirit
1998
Location: Not on view
Description
The skeletal face at the center of Spirit represents the artist, combined with imagery that inspires him. The horizontal lines that cross the face refer to patterns of Polynesian scarification, a type of body modification, which the artist encountered through sculpture. Spirit’s red background signifies blood, which for Davis is an expression of vitality, crucial to the life force he associates with this work. Alongside his artistic practice, Dexter Davis has served as a gallery guard at the Cleveland Museum of Art since 1991.- purchased by the donor when they were produced
- {{cite web|title=Spirit|url=false|author=Dexter Davis, Experimental Printmaking Institute, Lafayette College|year=1998|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2008.306