Cafe Mary Page Evans at the Delaware Art Museum
The
Delaware Art Museum is pleased to present
Painted Poetry:
The Art of
Mary Page Evans, a retrospective exhibition featuring approximately 50 paintings and drawings created by the artist between the
1960s and
2011. On view now through July 15,
2012, this exhibition highlights Evans' vibrant depictions of nature and the human form while celebrating the artist's distinguished career.
Mary Page Evans works directly from nature, seeking to capture a specific landscape, figure, tree, or sky. Her vibrant paintings and drawings evoke particular places—gardens in
Delaware and
France, a mountain in the
Shenandoah Valley, the
Florida coast—sites she returns to again and again, chronicling them in different moods and seasons. Displaying work made over more than 40 years, Painted Poetry is organized thematically to highlight Evans' longstanding interests: landscapes, gardens, figures, trees, seas, and skies.
Evans' expressive use of color and line evokes the spontaneity of movement and light found in the natural world. Not surprisingly, her influences include the
French impressionists and post-impressionists, as well as the abstract expressionists. She has worked at
Giverny,
Claude Monet's garden, and names Cézanne as
a particular inspiration. Her artist-friends include contemporary painters
Grace Hartigan and
Joan Mitchell.
Evans describes herself as a "museum person" and loves to discuss how specific artists and exhibitions have influenced her work. Yet she has developed a style all her own. As painter
Bill Scott has noted, "In Evans' work there is always a balance between the representational and the abstract as well as between impulsive and meditative applications of paint to her canvas
...She camouflages the numerous decisions and immense effort required to make her works look so effortless."
The artist's use of vibrant color and energetic drawing prompted painter
Gene Davis, a friend of Evans, to describe her pictures as "hymns of unadulterated joy."
Evans is also influenced by other disciplines—music, dance, and writing. This exhibition pairs Evans' paintings with the words that inspire her, from the musings of
Paul Cézanne to the contemporary poems of
Billy Collins and
Susan Jackson. The exhibition programming, which includes a classical music concert and poetry readings, will highlight the interdisciplinary cross-pollination that the artist seeks. To borrow
Scott's eloquent description of her career, "Her journey as an artist can be traced by seeing how she successfully finds and reinvents the inspiration that propels her to paint."
About the artist
Born in
Norfolk, Virginia, Mary Page Evans graduated with a degree in music from
Hollins University in
Roanoke. After college she studied at the
Art Students League in
New York and the
Corcoran School of Art in
Washington, D.C. She has lived in Delaware for nearly 50 years, since her marriage to former Delaware Congressman
Tom Evans. After moving to
Wilmington, she took classes at the Delaware Art Museum and with artists Ed Loper and
Tom Bostelle. Starting in the
1970s, Evans has been honored with many solo exhibitions, especially in Delaware, Florida,
Maryland,
Pennsylvania, and
Virginia. She is represented by Carspecken-Scott in
Wilmington, Delaware, and
Addison/
Ripley Fine Art in Washington, D.C. Her paintings and drawings are in public, private, and corporate collections, including the
National Museum of
Women in the Arts, the Delaware Art Museum, and the
Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University.
Press preview
Public programs & events •
Meet the Artist: Mary Page Evans
Saturdays, March 31, April 21, May 19, June 16 |
11:00 a.m. |
Free with
Museum admission
Join Wilmington-based artist Mary Page Evans as she discusses her retrospective exhibition Painted Poetry: The Art of Mary Page Evans, and her experiences, inspirations, and influences.
• Poetry Readings Saturdays, May 19 & June
16 | 1:00 p.m. -- 2:00 p.m. | Free with Museum admission
Hear regional and Delaware poets read poems inspired by the art of Mary Page Evans.
Regional poets: Saturday, May 19 Delaware poets: Saturday, June 16
•
Plein Air Studio Workshop with Mary Page Evans
Sunday, April 15 | 1:00 p.m. -- 3:00 p.m.
•
Figure Sketching Workshop with Mary Page Evans Monday, May 14 | 6:30 p.m. -- 8:30 p.m.
The Delaware Art Museum, located at
2301 Kentmere Parkway,
Wilmington, DE 19806, is open Wednesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. -- 4:00 p.m. and Sunday noon -- 4:00 p.m.
Admission fees are charged as follows: Adults (19 -- 59) $12,
Seniors (60+) $10, Students (with valid ID) $6,
Youth (7 -- 18) $6, and
Children (6 and under) free. Admission fees are waived every Sunday. For more information, call 302-571-9590 or 866-232-3714 (toll free), or visit the website at www.delart.org