A Mysterious New Art Exhibition Takes Over The Woodlands Arts Council’s Headquarters — Inside the World of Collected Recollections

Jayla Ash Davis and Chris Davis Share Their Art

By Laura Landsbaum // Jul 19, 2024

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Jayla Ash Davis and Jenny Carattini-Wright pose at the Woodlands Arts Council event where Jayla was honored as a Woman of Distinction. (Courtesy of The Woodlands Arts Council)

One of the pieces that is part of the exhibited collection is from California artist Regina Lyubovnaya.

Artist Jayla Ash Davis, center, talks about art in her collection with Keith Verville and Ardest Gallery owner Julie Verville at preview event. (Photo by Laura Landsbaum)

An exhibition of artwork from Jayla Ash Davis and Chris Davis dubbed “Collected Recollections” is now showing at The Woodlands Arts Council’s new exhibition space and headquarter offices. The Jayla Ash Davis and Chris Davis collection is mysterious, melancholy and reminiscent. It trends toward a dark ambiance with a large pinch of humor. The past becomes the present, and obsolete items are reincarnated into beautiful, thoughtful art.

There are memories and beauty in the discarded, the reuse of everyday objects in assemblage works, countless 3D sculptures that utilize small pieces of antique artifacts and artworks made from organic media, including antique hair, bones and other mementos. These keepsakes are given another purpose, meaning and existence, becoming new heirlooms and objects d’art. Two dimensional works include quirky and curious meaningful pieces containing questions, messages, endless childhood thoughts and the avant-garde.

Every piece has its own story.

“This exhibition is a dip into the past and a nod to the future,” curator Annette Palmer says. “It’s about longevity and preservation, tradition with a modern approach and a view forward using experimental techniques and approaches.”

It comes from artists known in The Woodlands. Jayla Davis had a 40 year career as an art educator and won the 2023 Woman of Distinction from The Woodlands Arts Council.

The Woodlands Arts Council’s Showcase Center

One of the pieces on display in this new exhibition is from California artist Regina Lyubovnaya, the 2023 Featured Artist at The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival.

Many of the works come from Ash Davis, an accomplished multi-faceted artist. She describes her work as “realism with a touch of abstraction.” She works in both 2D and 3D.

“I draw in pencil, colored pencil, charcoal,” Davis says. “I also play with media, using anything to create a rich, interesting surface to camouflage the images I use as personal symbols in my work. I occasionally build constructions to house the objects and images in my pieces, creating different levels to explore.”

An exhibit dedicated to The Woodlands’ upcoming 50th anniversary closed on July 11, clearing the way for this new “Collected Recollections” art exhibition.

This exhibit is open to the public Tuesdays through Thursdays from 1 pm to 4 pm each day. It can be found at The Woodlands Arts Council’s still new headquarters at 9450 Grogan’s Mill Road, Suite 160. “Collected Recollections” runs through September 26.