Devotions

NAVA Contemporary is pleased to present Devotions, a group show featuring works by SoHyun Bae, Liv Dockerty, Jimmie James, Stephanie Pryor, and Bas van den Hurk that treat love and devotion as states of attention—slow, deliberate, and sometimes consuming. Gesture replaces narrative; material carries feeling. These works ask what it means to stay, to return, to look closely. Here, devotion is not romanticized—it is practiced.

SoHyun Bae layers rice paper and pure pigment to create expressive canvases. Inspired by the Jewish Mystical understanding of why we have suffering in this universe, Bae’s Nature of Water series examines the fragility of life and the strength in vulnerability through depicting shards found in our natural world.

Liv Dockerty’s paintings convey a feeling of movement and life. Their associative titles, often referencing song lyrics, evoke narratives and emotions, while her bold palette invites the viewer to indulge in the sensual pleasure of colors artfully combined.

Jimmie James’ paintings reflect, contain, and give witness to an intimacy he experiences in reference to being alive. The paintings contain their own meaning. They become a portal, a platform, and an invitation for others to listen to themselves. 

Stephanie Pryor’s paintings explore the line between abstraction and representation, both physically and psychologically. Her “alphabet” is based on animal, nature, and female body imagery, but more importantly it is extremely personal and experiential.

Bas van den Hurk's work unites a multitude of modernist languages, styles and techniques. His large scale silkscreens combine abstract expressionist gestures in oil paint with pop-like patterns, printed on silk. Hazy and diffuse, they rarely have a fixed center, instead appearing as allover fields of subtly expressed forms and tones.