Brain-Colour
Evan Woodruffe’s new suite of works at Waiheke Art Gallery shimmer with light, as agile brush-marks dance over 2D and 3D surfaces. Their layers are porous; they are sprayed, drawn, painted, and collaged in a concert of saturated, pastel, translucent, and opaque hues. Colours are breathed into position, their vocabulary shifting from excited cries to hushed quiet, creating dynamic symphonies of colour, movement, emotion and intellect. These are paintings of food, music, laughter, cocktails, and travel.
“Colour is the place where our brain and the universe meet”, wrote philosopher Merleau-Ponty. In Evan’s paintings, the variations of colour and their varied application enable us to actively contemplate this slippage between our internal and external worlds. They seem to be happening both in our heads and outside; as things in and of themselves, objects with indistinct properties that affect us in obscure yet fascinating ways.
These paintings are simply titled with the date of their completion, “their birthday”, explains Evan. They are born from the flow of colour feeling, by applying my abilities until the work begins to separate from me. It develops away from being about any-thing, towards being some-thing: a painting with a life of its own.
“The way paint operates as a physical substance and an emotional signal has intrigued me for decades”, says Evan. “My total involvement in paint has enabled collaboration across industries, and allowed me to pass on important information that nourishes the visual arts community”.
Works
Brief Biography
Since graduating with MFA (1st Class) from the University of Auckland in 2014, Evan has pursued his passion for colour as a sensation and a material, growing his visual vocabulary into a language that he applies to canvas, clothing, furniture, and even luxury cars. His audience has spread, from nationwide out into the Asia-Pacific region such as Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Beijing and Chengdu.
Evan extends this passion for paint past his solo practice. He is a sought-after tutor, sharing his knowledge with tertiary and secondary art students, community groups and private schools. He is product specialist to Gordon Harris Art Supplies, and one of six Global Ambassadors for German companies da Vinci Brushes and Schmincke Artist Colours, for whom he is currently developing a new colour. Since 2008, he has operated Akepiro Street Studios, the creative home to a dozen artists, including himself.
Recent exhibitions include a solo presentation at Sydney Contemporary (2024); Chengdu Biennale (2023); Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings City Art Gallery (2023); 8th Beijing Biennale (2019); Toi Tauranga Art Gallery (2018).
Evan Woodruffe appears courtesy of PAULNACHE.
Acknowledgements
Artist: Evan Woodruffe
Exhibition: Brain–Colour
Location: Waiheke Art Gallery
Exhibition dates: 10 Jan – 9 Feb 2025
In collaboration with: PAULNACHE
Text: © the artist
Photos: Sait Akkirman @artsdiary.co.nz
Generously supported by: Waiheke Local Board, Postage Stamp Wines