Callen McJunkin Gallery

Callen McJunkin Gallery is pleased to bring to the Charleston area "Recent Works on Paper and Canvas by John Borden Evans," opening Nov. 20, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The paintings of John Borden Evans are unabashedly inspired. They contain all the rustic appeals of lush, naturalistic landscapes yet they quiver with the whimsy of abstract qualities like loose and frenzied marks, thick-layered impasto and rich, saturated color. Evan's work is positioned gently between the descriptive and the invented. Often the animals and trees that live on his canvases seem real, casting credible shadows, and creating an illusion of physical depth. However, he works from memory and imagination rather than observation. Without imposing direct connotations on the viewer, his marks are imbibed with meaning. Evans uses acrylic paint for its intrinsic qualities of rich surface texture and fast drying time, allowing him to create compositions through a process of experimentation. He manipulates his surfaces with refreshing spontaneity until his subjects materialize. He begins with colors, arbitrarily composed, and he paints, scrapes, scratches and repaints multiple times, unearthing images of nature that might be described as graceful, reverent and familiar, while neither contrived nor exotic. Evans often makes use of the diptych or triptych format, and regularly composes subjects in threes. He leaves to the viewers' imagination his motivation for this, though spiritual implications can be discerned from a historical context. John Borden Evans maintains an active exhibition schedule throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions in solo, group and juried exhibitions, and has won numerous awards for his paintings on paper and canvas. Recent Works on Paper and Canvas travels to Washington, DC in February. Evans' exhibition continues through December 30th, 2008 at the downtown gallery location in the loft above Stray Dog Antiques at 219 Hale Street, Charleston, WV. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11-5 pm and anytime by appointment. The downtown ArtWALK is Friday, November 28th, from 5-8 pm. All events are free and open to the public. The gallery offers free parking at the Huntington Banks' garage across the street upon gallery validation.