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By Felix Hoover

For YourNewsColumbus

Posted 0918-09

When firefighters showed up at the Kiaca Gallery Thursday evening, some patrons suggested it was in response to the hot portraits in Riccardo Davenport's latest exhibit.

The fire alarm that sounded at the gallery, 937 N. High St., had nothing to do with the nude portraits in the retrospective, which marked his 25 years as an artistic photographer. Neither was it related to the red peppers from the appetizer tray nor the birthday cake served to celebrate Davenport's birthday.

He had a banana split-flavored cake, but no candles. It would have taken 60 to do the job.

Wouldn't you know it? One of his models, Kristi Kloss, said she always sees Davenport at Hot Times, the annual neighborhood festival in Olde Town East. This year's event was last weekend.

Although most attendees cleared the building once the alarm went off, no evidence of fire was found. Apparently the alarm in a neighboring unit was difficult to reset, one of the firefighters said.

Kloss describes her photographer friend as "vivacious and off the wall."

"He's known for his enthusiastic dancing," she said.

As for his photography, "it's nice to see the range, and having posed for him it's nice to see what other people think of his work," Kloss said.

Jim Arter, one of the first on the scene at the reception and birthday party, said, "I have been privileged to know Riccardo for many years as a fellow artist and friend. He is a man with a great sense of style, fashion and artistry. These attributes are reflected in his photography."

Another early arrival, Beatrice Mitchell, said she had seen many of Davenport's photos in his gallery, but not with the ornate frames that dressed them up for the Kiaca display, which began September 3 and runs through October 25..

"They're all very interesting, very intricate, very detailed," she said. "It looks like he's very organized."

Davenport's use of umbrellas, hats and other props add to the work's classiness, Mitchell said.

Debora Brown, a member of the Kiaca board, said Davenport's photos of female nudes express women's beauty.

"It shows not only the outward appearance, but also baring the soul and her perspective about being a woman," she said.

Like Davenport, lawyer H. Lee Thompson is an alumnus of Central State University in Wilberforce. Both men also were active with Art for Community Expression in its heyday. Davenport was executive director at one point, and Thompson, a board member.

"I appreciated the opportunity to work with Ric," Thompson said. "I've taken a few pictures and he's helped me out."

Davenport's first commissioned work was for Huntington Bank. Since then, he has exhibited at Primer De Fontografia-Delcuerpo Humano in Havana, Cuba; the National Afro-American Museum in Wilberforce; ACE Gallery; the Art Consortium in Cincinnati and the Columbus Cultural Arts Center.

A native of Chattanooga, Tenn., he comes from a family of artists; his father was a draftsman, and his mother, a painter and wardrobe stylist.

"In 1975, I began to study the total scope of the Art Deco period and its influence on architecture, fashion, design, paintings and sculpture," Davenport said. "It had a profound impact in my development of choreographing models."

He studied the female form through books from the 1920s and pin-ups books. To master his art he took a course in live drawing and anatomy and studied under two master photographers.

Davenport likes the label "purist," which comes from his refusal to use flash or studio lights or to manipulate his images.

He expressed appreciation for his silver anniversary as a photographer and for his six decades of life and creativity.