Evan Woodruffe

A REAR WINDOW PROJECT

Evan Woodruffe’s practice is deeply concerned with the materials and processes involved with painting. There is a consistent acknowledgement and inclusion of the physical space the works are made in; and an ongoing attention to the layered surface effects, the transparency and camouflage of the materials and space, and the flexibility of the process. As the layers of gestural markings accumulate in his works, care is taken not to describe too much form, yet even so, this formless image becomes highly suggestive. 

Dodge, in the Gallery’s Rear Window space, is assertively decorative as it sits on the glass surface of this white rectangular box.  The three abstract paintings, which together make Dodge, act like a series of stickers, reflections, textiles or even tattoos upon the ‘surface’.  This bright, gestural and textured work can be considered map-like, showing our own negotiation of physical and cultural spaces, looping between our internal and external realms. There is also a level of disorientation created; where the clarity of colour and line is held in tension with a confused blur of layers. 

Evan Woodruffe (b.1965) lives and works in Auckland. He has had ten solo exhibitions since 2003 at OREXART in Auckland, Paul Nache in Gisborne, and Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi, Whakatāne, and has been involved in many group shows, including the 5th Auckland Triennial. Woodruffe has a MFA (1st Class Honours) from Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland. He is the recipient of the 2011 Molly Morpeth Canaday Major Award and the 2003 Becroft Foundation Premier Award. His work is held in public and private collections, such as the Wallace Art Trust.