The Julio Fine Arts Gallery Presents:

A Piece of Me Died With You
A Solo Exhibition by Devin Allen

February 22 - March 27, 2024

OPENING EVENT February 22, 2024:
Artist Talk and Q&A 6:30PM, McManus Theater
Opening Reception to follow in the Gallery

This exhibition is co-sponsored by: The Visual & Performing Arts Department, Messina, the LCAS Dean’s Office, the Office of Equity & Inclusion, the Office of Peace & Justice, Education for Life, and the Center for Humanites, Loyola University Maryland

A PIECE OF ME DIED WITH YOU

Growing up in Baltimore exposed me to the harsh realities of life at a very young age. Around the age of six, I lost my cousin to gun violence, and at 14, a close friend was murdered during a dice game. Death and trauma became integral aspects of my existence. While the specter of becoming a victim myself loomed, I discovered solace and purpose through the lens of a camera.

Photography became a lifeline, allowing me to capture and document the world around me, offering a means to reflect and share with a broader audience. This artistic practice evolved into a therapeutic outlet, albeit one with inherent limitations in expressing certain emotions.

The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compelled me to explore alternative forms of expression. Unable to photograph people, I found myself isolated in both my house and studio. Confronted with the recent pain of losing more friends, I turned to experimentation with paint and charcoal, channeling my emotions onto paper and canvas.

While sketching and painting, I rekindled memories of those I had forgotten—friends from my youth who had faded into obscurity and moments that were slipping away.

A piece of me died with you.

This exhibition is an exploration rooted in my photographic foundation, showcasing images of lost friends and those left behind to grieve. It delves into the diverse coping mechanisms people employ in the face of loss—some turning to substances, others seeking solace in faith and church.

The installation includes a visual narrative on the tradition of leaving murals for those we've lost and features several abstract paintings and sketches from a previously undisclosed series.

The overarching objective of this exhibition is to commemorate the lives of my departed friends, acknowledge the irrevocable nature of their absence, and raise awareness about the pervasive issue of gun violence in Baltimore.

—Devin Allen

*All Images by Devin Allen

Baltimore native Devin Allen is an international, award-winning self-taught photographer and artist who gained national attention when his photograph of the Baltimore Uprising was published on the cover of Time magazine in May 2015, making him only the third amateur photographer to have his work featured in the publication. Following the untimely deaths of George Floyd, Tony McDade, and Breonna Taylor, his photograph from a Black Trans Lives Matter protest was published on the cover of Time magazine in June 2020.

In 2017, he was named the first fellow of the Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award as a debut author for his book, A Beautiful Ghetto (Haymarket Books, September 2017). In 2023, he was awarded the 2023 Gordon Parks Foundation / Steidl Book Prize.

In 2020, he was named an ambassador for Leica Camera AG—an international, premium manufacturer of cameras and sports optics.

His photographs have been published in New York Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Aperture; and are also in the permanent collections of the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C., the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art.

He is the founder of Through Their Eyes, a youth photography educational program, and recipient of an award from The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture for dynamic leadership in the Arts and Activism.

His latest book, No Justice, No Peace: From the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter, was released in 2022 under the Legacy Lit imprint of Hachette Book Group.

Most recently, he captured the main imagery for the sixth and final season of the hit SHOWTIME series, The Chi.