pt. 2 Gallery is pleased to announce No Place I’d Rather Be, a solo exhibition of work by David Tim. For Tim's first exhibition with the gallery, he presents a new series of works that demonstrate his unique experimentation in printmaking in which he integrates silk, charcoal and other fabrics in his detailed woodcuts mounted on Sekishu paper. Thanks to this unique style, Tim portrays extraordinary tenderness and emotional depth in his scenes of Black joy and quotidian life.

While they make use of traditional techniques, Tim’s process explores the possibility of using printmaking in creating unique works. While his pieces incorporate woodcut, the embellishment with acrylic, ink, and collage renders each unique. Tim’s unique style of portraiture emerges from the woodcut layer at the foundation of each piece. The long, gestural cuts lead to melancholy eyes and wide smiles, rugged hands and furrowed brows that tell the stories of long days. The distinct woodcut aesthetic  is accented by elements of collage and painting; Tim collages dyed fabrics from his native Nigeria with floral patterns and indigo tones, as well as morsels of his own works, and elements of daily life such as shoe laces.

Treating layers in multiple ways, he adds  physical dimension, further elevating the flatness of the underlying relief print. 

Tim’s works, narrative in content, pays homage to the small moments that make daily life special. In the piece “Relics”, Tim recalls a trip to Japan with his sister. His sister, the principal figure in the piece, holds her camera gently in her hands, photographing a koi pond up close. The tenderness in her gaze reveals the power of encouragement between brother and sister, and the eventual creative path she took thanks to that trip. In other pieces, friends and family laugh on the couch, play on the street or linger on the beach. To Tim, these small moments are as integral and foundational to joy and prosperity as conventional milestones. It is in these moments, so easily overlooked, where family and community ties strengthen day after day.