Western Exhibitions is thrilled to present Kareem Davis’ first show with the gallery, running from February 27 to April 10, 2021. Davis will present meticulous architectural renderings of buildings both real and imagined.

Kareem Davis’ elegant graphite drawings focus on the simple and straightforward beauty of buildings that may or may not exist. Many depict Chicago Housing Projects, the majority of which have been torn down. Some are delightful wishful thinking, like his renderings of The New Obama International Hotel and Suites and The Chicago Sky Tower, possibly homage to the Chicago’s WNBA team. Most of the drawings contain a small rendering of the sun or the moon to show scale.

Davis is a life-long Chicago resident and is extremely knowledgeable about the Chicago Transit Authority. When he is not drawing skyscrapers, he is rendering images of CTA L-trains and buses while enthusiastically informing his viewer of the design and function. The largest drawing in the show depicts the CTA’s 2200 cars that were, as Davis notes on the work, built by Budd in 1969-1970.

This show is presented in conjunction with Project Onward, a Chicago-based studio and gallery dedicated to the creative growth of adult artists whose lives are impacted by mental illness and developmental disabilities, where Kareem Davis has been member artist for five years. He works full time at both Antique Taco locations, family-run restaurants in the Wicker Park and Bridgeport neighborhoods of Chicago. He proudly lives in a high-rise apartment on the twentieth floor in Noble Square. He has also recently taken up light weight-lifting and dancing.

View the show on our website here