David Shrobe uses domestic items and detritus he reclaims as he traverses Harlem to create visual signifiers that collapse the divisions between past, present, and future. This process gives birth to a new kind of portrait that challenges the singular historical narrative by presenting alternative representations. This approach yields a multi-layered exchange that leverages his excavation of history to reject traditional notions of temporality that is also exclusionary of Black bodies in order to create dynamic counter narratives.

Shrobe holds an MFA and a BFA in painting from Hunter College. He is an alumnus of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and was a Joan Mitchell Artist Teaching Fellow. His work has been included in a number of group shows and he has had solo exhibitions at Thierry Goldberg New York and Miami; Jenkins Johnson Gallery in San Francisco, and The Sugar Hill Children’s Museum in Harlem among others. Shrobe’s work is part of the public collections of The Brooklyn Museum, New York; The Block Museum, Evanston; Union College, Schenectady; Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, Eugene; and NSU Art Museum, Fort Lauderdale.