The Grand held an opening reception for “Gen X Kid: Prints by Wade Davis” Friday night. The exhibit include over two dozen prints made by Davis, who is relatively new to art.

On the west wall hangs images of “He-Man” and an Atari videogame. Images of giant cats attacking skyscapers adorn the north and south wall alongside Star Wars imagery.

In his day to day life, Davis is a lawyer and business law professor. It was only in the last three years that he became interested in print art.

Davis explained that in 2020 when COVID hit everything was so depressing and he turned to art for an escape. It was the first time had focused on art in 35 years.

Artist Wade Davis included a series of photograph size drawings of his families adopted poodle in outlandish squences from famous movies. Davis said it was a comical look at the dog’s life before the family adopted him.

Davis said as he returned to art he found himself thinking about growing up in the 80s and the things that were important to him as a kid. For that reason a lot of his art references that time period and the pop culture associated with it.

“I wanted imagery that would make me laugh,” he said. “As a professor/lawyer I don’t usually get to work with images or physically make things.”

Davis’s pieces fall into three cateogries: 1980s pop culture, crazy creatures and nature. Sometimes the three themes blend together; such as with his printing of a UFO abducting campers or a giant King Kong size cat attacking New York.

He described his earlier work as thereputic. It was a way to get through the darkest days of the pandemic. For this reason, his prints skew toward the whimsical and fun.

In May, Davis took part in the artist residency in The Grand’s Cellar Press. He was able to complete four prints using the cellar equipment.

Several of artist Wade Davis’s works depict nature, such as his print of Lake Superior, but others put a comical twist on nature, such as his print of a UFO abducting campers.

Though Davis continues to work his day job as professor/lawyer, he does plan to continue making print art. His goal is for his work to remain bright and funny.

“Gen X Kid” will remain on display in the 4 Pillars Gallery through Oct. 13. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Artist Wade Davis included a series of photograph size drawings of his families adopted poodle in outlandish squences from famous movies. Davis said it was a comical look at the dog’s life before the family adopted him.