ARTCRAWL HARLEM RESIDENCY
SUMMER 2023
Over the summer of 2023 at his Artcrawl Harlem Residency, DaQuane explored new ways he could tell his story through his new series titled “THE WATER BEARER” .
This 12 part multidimensional/ mix media series depicts black men under and above water with his signature teddy bear while telling a story through ballet. Cherry explains that the water symbolizes the consciousness of emotional vulnerability all while balancing the line of Femininity and Masculinity within us all.
DaQuane goes on expressing Ballet being an art form where one has to be intentional in their poses yet freeing of the body all at once. He expounds on this expression in the pieces as the men flow with the tides instead of against, allowing themselves to be vulnerable. Cherry studied the anatomy of human bodies and muscle movement within the poses he curated for the figures to depict in the paintings.
DaQuane expands his creative process by adding new elements to his usual acrylic medium style; incorporating sand and rocks that he collected from his summer beach explorations to Far Rockaway Beach. As well as pearls and cloth fabric to break the fourth wall of his figurative style while creating, for his viewers, a sense of feeling immersed in the water themselves. He also took time in curating oyster shells from Governors Island’s Oyster Project to create a feel of an installation of a seashore.
Chateau D'Orquevaux
French Residency 2025
A starlight entertainer in the 1920s during the roaring Harlem Renaissance era, Josephine Baker was a force to be reckoned with… born in St Louis Missouri she later moved to Harlem NYC to pursue her endeavors as a singer /dancer/ entertainer… she would later move to France. While in France she used her celebrity by helping the French Resistance during World War 2 as a spy amongst the German soldiers. She also played a big role in the civil rights movement alongside other major black figures of said time. This series not only honors her history but also represents reasoning as to how someone who looks like me has the opportunities today to be truly … an Artist.
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I created 12 pieces dancing through the streets of Paris, the number 12 paid homage to her 12 adopted children. she made it her mission to prove that those 12 individuals, from different ethnic backgrounds, had a chance to be seen equally human.
