All colours appear in nature, but rarely all at once. On canvas they appear in strokes, swathes, washes, and dollops. Corners are populated by deep mauve vessels. Entire paintings are taken over by swarms of delicate blue circles. Backgrounds are blackened orange skies, are scratched reds, are turned an illusory purple by the obsessive layering of turquoise over spicy pink. On Evan Woodruffe’s canvases, colours bump up against each other in ways we rarely see outside of a rainforest, where shining green leaves fall to the ground, turning to vibrant fungus, to dark humus, to fresh, miraculous sprouts. – Lucinda Bennett

Biography

Evan Woodruffe (b.1965) brings the extraordinary into the ordinary. Whether on a wall or a luxury motorcar, his paintings build complex relationships between colour and pattern to form what writer Lucinda Bennett referred to as Wet Maps, “living, breathing ecosystems, and visualisations of a new kind of urbanism”, where the world itself is fluid and porous.

Through a close collaboration with PAULNACHE, Evan sustains an unpredictable and exciting exhibition schedule, with works that range from the gargantuan 3m x 9m multi-panelled painting 6th April 2019 to his tiny painted pill capsules, both shown at until science finds a cure for our condition, remain medicated (2019). Together, they have expanded Evan’s audience through gallery exhibitions, art fairs including Sydney Contemporary (2017) and Melbourne’s Spring 1883 (2016), and projects in Auckland, Wellington, and Singapore.

Evan has regularly shown at public institutions, including his significant contribution to the NZ Special Exhibition at 8th Beijing Biennale (2019). He produced a major exhibition for Tauranga Art Gallery (2018), a large temporary work for Dunedin Public Art Gallery (2015), performance work for the 5th Auckland Triennial (2013), and worked with Whakatane Museum to produce a show based on their photographic archives (2013).

Painting remains the core of Evan’s practice, both as artworks in themselves and providing the imagery for printing onto fabrics, furniture, automobiles, and architecture. Collaboration with designers and performers has extended his painting practice off the wall and into our 3D world.

Evan is a long-standing supporter of the visual arts, not only as an artist, but as a collector, sponsor, teacher, and advocator. He has run Akepiro Street Studios, home to over a dozen artists, since 2008, and is a regular contributor to community events such as Artweek Auckland.

Works

Accreditations

Evan is a Member WeCreate (New Zealand), Brand Ambassador for da Vinci Artist Brushes, Brand Ambassador for Schmincke Artist Colours, has an MFA (1st Class) University of Auckland and a PGDip Art & Design from AUT. PAULNACHE has represented Evan Woodruffe since 2014.

Read more …

Selected Exhibitions

• No Straight Lines at Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings City Art Gallery, 2023

• The World Is Porous, Tauranga Art Gallery, 2018

• Sydney Contemporary, Carriageworks, 2017

• Spring 1881, Victorian Suite at the Windsor Hotel, Melbourne, 2016

• Auckland Art Fair, PAULNACHE 2016

• Hypnic Jerk, PAULNACHE 2015

Collections

• NZ Department of the Prime Minister

• NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade

• The Wallace Arts Trust

• The Parkin Collection

• Private Collections in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, China, USA, & Spain

Video