Art Talk: Ned Evans
Born in 1950, abstract artist Ned Evans has always been drawn to the California landscape. It’s coastline has become an omnipresent figure in this Venice resident’s life. Like all of us, the pandemic has affected his daily practice. Art has been his go-to remedy for any hardship. At the time of posting (Feb 2023), his By the Seaside series was on view at the Craig Krull Gallery website. Be sure to check the website for more info about this artist
Artist Ned Evans
In the words of Ned Evans…”I like to think I began these paintings 60 years ago. When I was ten years old, I started painting and surfing. These two activities continue to serve as my refuge from the tumult of the world, even today. I would copy coastal landscape paintings, album covers, and posters from Broadway musicals like “South Pacific.” I was totally smitten with tropical light and the ocean. Shortly after I started painting, my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, which elevated these paintings to an even deeper place of comfort.”
Finding Inspiration
“Fast forward to around 1995: I went back to my early musings and began a body of ocean-based work I call “H20s.” As primarily an abstract painter, I consciously made the decision to add different visual pursuits to my work that were more connected to my daily life. This became both a useful and positive addition to my more reductive, abstract work. The H20s used all of my experiences in the water surfing and traveling throughout the world. I began a deeper focus on ocean-related imagery, particularly where it meets the shore. These H20 paintings have grown in new ways along with our COVID-afflicted world. Once again, I found painting to be a constant refuge as our world spun out of control.
As the 2020 election results grew increasingly protracted and anxiety-inducing, I found myself adding even more imagery to the H20 paintings, letting my love of Milton Avery, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, and Agnes Pelton into my work, in addition to the work of Man Ray, Max Ernst, and de Chirico. Just like when I was a 10-year-old who didn’t know what was what, worried about impending doom, I began to let the images in my work tell little stories or create awkwardly sympathetic scenarios. My dyslexia helped mesh everything together, for better or for worse, assigning new locations for meaning in the imagery. These paintings come together as a mash-up of many things I cherish, helping me realize that if you can find any solace in what you do and love, you’ve already come out ahead.”
For additional info or sales inquiries, please call the Craig Krull Gallery at 310-913-0749 or email at info@craigkrullgallery.com; https://www.craigkrullgallery.com/
