Beverly McIver

Beverly McIver: Full Circle presents a survey of more than 50 works that demonstrate the diversity of the artist’s thematic approach to painting over 25 years. From early self-portraits in clown makeup to more recent works featuring portraits of others and her own reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic, the exhibition illuminates the arc of McIver’s artistic career while also touching on her personal journey. Her self-portraits explore expressions of individuality, stereotypes, and ways of masking identity, while portraits of family members provide glimpses of intimate moments, in good times as well as in illness and death. The exhibition includes McIver’s portraits of other artists and notable figures, recent work resulting from a year in Rome with American Academy’s Rome Prize, and new work in which McIver explores the juxtaposition of color, pattern, and the human figure.

Full Circle also features works that reflect on McIver’s collaborations with artists, as well as her impact on the next generation. A complementary exhibition,  In Good Company, includes artists who have mentored McIver, such as Faith Ringgold and Richard Mayhew, as well as those who have studied under her, including Melissa Button, Claudio Dicochea, Michael Dixon, Carrie Hott, Mary Porterfield, Chris Santa Maria, Damian Stamer, and Lamar Whidbee.

Beverly McIver: Full Circle is organized by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) and guest curated by Kim Boganey, director of Scottsdale Public Art. Generously supported by world class sponsor Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management. Additional exhibition support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and Craven Allen Gallery.

Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art
December 8, 2022 – March 26, 2023

Beverly McIver: An Introspective Retrospective at Turner Carroll Gallery, curated by Tonya Turner Carroll
February 10 – March 10, 2023

Beverly McIver: Dear God and Loving in Black and White at CONTAINER, curated by Tonya Turner Carroll
February 10 – March 10, 2023

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS:

CAM RALEIGH An Introspective Retrospective curated by Tonya Turner Carroll
March, 2022 – March 26, 2023

The Gibbes Museum of Art
April 28 – August 4, 2023 

An intimate selection of paintings depicting Beverly’s father, Cardrew Davis (March 26 1926 - January 22 2022), to honor his life and legacy.

A statement from Beverly:

I’m feeling pretty numb about my dad. I can’t believe he’s no longer here. I can’t wait for hospice to collect their oxygen tanks and other apparatus. I need to paint the room and change the furniture so that I’m not constantly thinking this is where I found my father’s lifeless body lying with his eyes open. He lay there most of the day on Sunday because of the snowstorm and no funeral home had four-wheel drive. Hospice was great with calling local funeral homes; finally, Clements braved the weather to collect my dad’s body. I am grateful to them.

What brings me great peace is I know for sure that my dad knew he was loved.

He was 95 years old and independent–until the fall six months ago.  He first went to a rehab center, but three months ago, I was able to move him to my home. It was a challenge to care for him, as he was unable to walk and needed to be fed. I learned more about him in that three-month period than in all the time before put together.  His dentures (top and bottom) no longer fit because he had lost so much weight.  He was tall, 6’1”, and most of his life weighed well over 250 pounds; at the end he weighed 114.  My challenge was to purée foods that were tasty and familiar.  Soup, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, grilled cheese, and ice cream sandwiches became staples.

My dad was the last of his five siblings and his friends. He felt alone and had difficulty letting anyone in. He thought that giving and receiving money was a marker for love (he would give me $20.00 as a teenager, when I visited him).

During our time together, I was able to show him love by caring for him. Trusting and allowing yourself to love another became a new sign of love. I think he hadn’t experienced that in his life.  No one ever got close enough to love him.

We spent our final days loving each other. We both learned that it was okay to be vulnerable and lean on others for support. I know he felt loved.  I was reassured that he loved me too.

Beverly McIver and Cardrew Davis:

Beverly McIver was first introduced to Cardrew Davis, the man she now knows to be her father, at the age of seventeen. Despite warnings from her mother that “he will disappoint you, just as he disappointed me”, McIver clung to some hope that her mother was wrong about him. This hope fueled her desire to pursue a relationship with her father after her mother’s death in 2004.

She came to know her father intimately over the years, sharing meals, visits, and especially capturing moments of his life—resting, eating, or simply gazing back at her—in paint.  McIver’s portraits of Cardrew Davis have become among her most iconic works; her 2018 portrait Taxi Driver, is held in the permanent collection of the Cameron Museum of Art in Wilmington, North Carolina.   

In November of 2021, Beverly moved her father into her home. She made the difficult decision to take him out of the rehab center he was admitted to after suffering a serious fall a few months prior. Caring for him was demanding, as he could not walk and needed to be fed. Despite the challenges, McIver says she is glad they were able to spend their final days loving each other.

Reckoning and Resilience: North Carolina Art Now now on view at Nasher Museum of Art in Durham, NC through July 10