Across painting, printmaking, sculpture, video, mosaic, and mixed media works ranging from tiny and intimate objects to monumental panels, DeVane’s creative sensibilities leave no stone unturned in her quest to communicate her vision of the painful and troubled specificities of black American history side by side with her embrace of a pan-spiritual relationship to the divine. In the fabrication of her intricate and totemic sculptures, DeVane embodies the modularity and tactility of Constantin Brancusi, the additive processes and reach to verticality of David Smith, and the dazzling juxtaposition of materials of Mickalene Thomas. 

Her work reflects an awareness of global artistic practices and a strategic use of American craft sensibilities that is situated within her profound roots in the local Baltimore creative community. She is part of a newly recognized generation of artists whose work explodes the narrow, constricted narrative of modernist art to make way for a more inclusive awareness of the pluralities and richness of American contemporary artistic production.

- Christopher Bedford

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"From the Realm of Dust" is a series of mixed media works about the human condition and our relationship to realms beyond us.  The creation of large-scale figural representation of mythological and religious entities personifies universal concepts and are identified as Avatars.

Examples of the goddesses in this series are those like MAWU, a deity represented in "Mawu-Moon Goddess, who is worshiped in coastal West Africa by the Fon.  She is seen as a creator and is associated with the moon.  

The piece "Dumballa" represents a deity in the African-based religion of Vodou in Haiti. He takes the form of a snake and is an agent of fertility.

"Erzulie" is the Haitian goddess of love and power. She is invoked as a symbol of female courage, desirability and strength, and symbolizes the ideal mother.

"The Lote Tree" marks the boundary where no soul is allowed to pass any further. Archangel Gabriel guards the passage. In Islamic lore, the Lote Tree marks the utmost boundary  through which no one can pass. It is the tree that the Prophet Mohammed encountered at the climax of his legendary nocturnal ascent to heaven.  This important number recurs in the seven earths and seven underworlds that pervade many philosophical traditions. The mystical writings of Baha’u’llah, founder of the Baha’is faith, defines the wayfarer's journey as The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys.

In the Greek myth "Dog Star", Sirius-Asteria scorched the Minoan Islands from the sky and was thought to have brought about the destruction of mankind. By doing so , he was responsible for saving the lives of the rest.

Several of these pieces synchronize spiritual beliefs represented in a myriad of cultures.

  • Mawu-Moon Goddess
    Mawu-Moon Goddess
    Year: 2019 ○ Material: wood, acrylic, glass, beads, rope, resin on wood panel ○ Dimensions: 54" x 36" x 1.5" ○○ MAWU is a deity worshiped in coastal West Africa by the Fon. She is seen as a creator and is associated with the moon.
  • Sirius-Asteria
    Sirius-Asteria
    Year: 2020 ○ Material: glass, fabric, acrylic, wood, paper ○ Dimensions: 54" x 36" x 1.5" ○○ Greek myth "Dog Star" Sirius-Asteria scorched the Minoan Islands from the sky and was thought to have brought about the destruction of mankind. By so doing, he was responsible for saving the lives of the rest.
  • Whatever happened to Icarus?
    Whatever happened to Icarus?
    Year: 2020 ○ Material: acrylic, glass chips, rope, ceramic, wood, plastics ○ Dimensions: 56" x 34" x 1.5" In Whatever Happened to Icarus?, the son of Dadaelus of Greek mythology is seen in sequence spinning down to earth, his wings having been destroyed by the sun’s heat. The presence below scornfully observes the presumptions of Icarus to transcend his natural state as he falls to the sea.
  • The Garden of the Heart
    The Garden of the Heart
    Title: Garden of the Heart ○ Year: 2020
  • The Lote Tree
    The Lote Tree
    Year: 2020 ○ Material: beads, ceramic, fabric, glass, wood ○ Dimensions: 56" x 34" x 1.5 " ○ ○ The lote tree marks the boundary where no soul is allowed to pass any further. Archangel Gabriel guards the passage. In Islamic lore, the Lote Tree marks the utmost boundary through which no one can pass. It is the tree that the Prophet Mohammed encountered at the climax of his legendary nocturnal ascent to heaven. This important number recurs in the seven earths and seven underworlds that pervade many philosophical traditions. The mystical writings of Baha’u’llah, founder of the Baha’is faith, defines the wayfarer's journey asThe Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys.
  • Dumballa
    Dumballa
    Year: 2018 ○ Material: acrylic on panel, glass, beads, resin, crystals, clay, wood, fabric, metal ○ Dimensions: 53" x 30" x 3"
  • Epiphany
    Epiphany
    Year: 2018 ○ Material: wood, glass, acrylic paint, bones, plastics ○ Dimensions: 52"x 30"x 3.5"
  • Subsumed by Whiteness
    Subsumed by Whiteness
    An avatar representing the challenge of the black body encased in whiteness, shielded by bullets, facing death, and reaching transcendence.
  • Installation View ○ Mamawata (left) | Dumballa (center) | Erzulie (right)
    Installation View ○ Mamawata (left) | Dumballa (center) | Erzulie (right)
    In African and African diaspora traditions, Mama Wata is the mother of oceans/water. She is sometimes associated with mermaids, or sirens, who can tempt sailors off course and to their demises. Her mythos is deeply rooted in the coastal regional stories of Nigeria, Zambia, and Thailand, and thus represents a global presence. Dumballa is a deity in the African-based religion of Voudu in Haiti. He takes the form of a snake and is an agent of fertility. Erzulie, the Haitian goddess of love and power. She is invoked as a symbol of female courage, desirability and strength, and symbolizes the ideal mother,
  • The Lote Tree (UMBC exhibition) 2022
    The Lote Tree (UMBC exhibition) 2022
    The Lote Tree: One of several works in the 2022 Retrospective Exhibition: Spectrum of Light and Spirit at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)