David Butler’s Dragon Wagon and Animal Carousel

At the close of HOME, a gallery presentation of works by David Butler, Sanford Darling, Mary T. Smith and Sarah Mary Taylor, we are excited to announce the launch of a new digital-exhibition, David Butler’s Dragon Wagon and Animal Carousel.

The show highlights two early environmental works from the yard show of David Butler (1898-1997), a prolific self-taught Black artist from Good Hope, Louisiana. Both works are remarkable large-scale, kinetic assemblages and demonstrate Butler’s ingenious use of found materials, bright color and signal towards the Haitian influences that abounded in Butler’s life, and in Louisiana at the time. The artist was sometimes known to travel with his creations when leaving the safety of his highly decorated home and yard, and one can easily imagine the pride he might have felt pulling around this spectacular wagon.

For more information about either of these works, please contact: info@shrine.nyc

Untitled (dragon wagon)

David Butler, Untitled (dragon wagon), ca 1980s, wood, metal, Christmas ornaments, paint and rubber spoked-wheels, 34 x 78 x 16 in.

Untitled (animal carousel)

David Butler, Untitled (animal carousel), ca 1970s-1980s, wood, metal, paint, nails and found buttons, 17 x 50 x 28.5 in.