EVAN
SUMMER
Landscapes and Nocturnes
April
14 - June 17, 2001
Evan
Summer, described as a modern-day artist
using old world skills, doesn't describe
his current exhibit as comfortable landscapes
or pictures that emphasize the beauty of
nature. He notes that they instead deal
with time or change and are dark, moody
and foreboding. The structures, which are
the only indication of human presence, give
the images a sense of time and deterioration.
Something has happened in the silent spaces,
and that gives them a history and creates
a sense of mystery. The natural landscape
and the structures each have their own beauty,
but in this context they oppose one another.
Evan
Summer began his journey into printmaking
during college when as a senior he switched
his major from chemistry to art. As an upperclassman
Summer was expected to take elective courses,
including art classes. He opted not to take
art history classes because "I wanted
to make art, not read about it." From
then on, art became Summer's world.
Evan
feels his education as a chemist has helped
him in his current field. "A lot of
the processes in art involve work that is
similar to the laboratory.... And, in printmaking,
we use processes like etching, which is
acid reacting with metal. Having an understanding
of how chemical reactions work and how they
are affected by different temperatures...gives
me an advantage in the studio." Summer
combines not only his background in science
in his art, but also his interest in architecture
and sculpture. Many of his prints reflect
construction sites, environmental sculptures,
and unusual panoramas. Growing up in Buffalo,
NY, Summer was attracted to the impressive
hydroelectric and power plants that dominate
the landscape around Niagara Falls. Though
inspired by these specific forms, in his
imagery he never defines the original nature
or function of his constructions, only evoking
some long-forgotten need for their presence.
Most
of Summer's prints are executed in the traditional
technique of etching on copper plates, often
with supplemental engraving and drypoint.
He frequently uses conventional printmakers'
tools such as roulettes, etching needles,
scrapers, and burnishers; but he also uses
more modern equipment such as flexible shaft
tools, sanders and buffing wheels. In some
instances aquatint, the tonal process associated
with etching, is used to create broad, rich
areas of gray and black. The plates are
often etched 15 to 20 times and a single
plate can take up to a year or more to complete.
Multiple prints can be made from each plate,
yet each print is its own original, hand-printed
on fine paper by the artist, without the
assistance of elaborately equipped workshops
and technicians.
Summer
also works in drawing and collage and these
pieces usually involve color. The drawings
deal with the same imagery as the prints
and in some cases are studies for prints.
They are generally started with pencil and
further developed with pastel. Summer's
collages evolved from his collagraph plates.
Collagraphy is a modern intaglio printmaking
process involving the attaching of textural
materials to a supporting plate or board
to create a surface that can be inked and
printed with pressure onto a sheet of paper.
He then began to add graphite, pastel, powdered
pigment and acrylic to this process. The
results are large and relatively colorful
collages which further develop the ideas
of his prints.
Several
geometric and vegetable images are included
in this exhibition. In some instances the
geometric images are studies for forms within
the landscapes. But as singular, isolated
forms they emphasize perfection and imperfection,
order and disorder. The vegetables, like
the landscapes, embody time, change and
deterioration. As a group, these works manifest
a dark fantasy, a melancholy dream somewhere
between remembering and foreboding.
Evan
Summer lives in Wyomissing, PA with his
wife and four children and has taught printmaking
for 14 years at Kutztown University. He
received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree
at the State University of New York at Buffalo
and his Master's degree in printmaking at
Yale University. He is represented in many
distinguished collections including the
National Gallery of Art, and the Philadelphia
Museum of Art and has had a number of solo
exhibitions including an exhibit at the
Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C. at the
end of 1999. He is the recipient of numerous
printmaking awards and prizes, and is a
member of the National Academy of Design,
where he was awarded the 1999 Leo Meissner
Prize for printmaking.
Robert
Metzger, Ph.D
Director, CEO, Chief Curator Reading
Public Museum
|
