"Wood-Evans' evocative works create a crackled tension, of place and unknown space on the canvas, blurring the distinctions between the past and the present. Swiftly, with his Proustian sensibility, Jake Evan-Wood catches the transience of past histories - its glories and frustrations; in his ‘search for lost time’, he reveals time’s depth, unveiling all its sublime pleasures and tainted legacies".
Rachael Thomas
Senior Curator: Head of Exhibitions
In an age dominated by screens and pixelated image, Jake Wood-Evans’ work feels like a welcome antidote. Drawing on the legacies of Old Masters, his intention is to capture the essence of these historic works without replicating them, depicting familiar, yet obscured subject matter.
Creating ethereal images that are both unsettling and beautiful, Wood-Evans’ powerful use of light emerges from a loose and instinctive application of paint. His oil paintings shimmer with luminous and intense layers of colour as bold marks, dripping oils and scored surfaces sit in company with fine, delicate detail.
Describing his work as "a process of conflict with the ambiguous space between representation and abstraction", Wood-Evans resists the urge to provide easy readings or instantly accessible compositions. He invites the viewer to pause and quietly contemplate a series of multi-layered paintings that denote a common visual language built through our shared history and consumption of art imagery.
Wood-Evans’ work has been exhibited at galleries in London and across the UK, as well as international art fairs. He has worked with museums including Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery, The Holburne, Bath, Hampshire Cultural Trust and the Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins, France. Wood-Evans’ work can be found in private collections internationally, including collections in New York, Malaysia, London, Antwerp and Miami. He holds a BA Hons in Fine Art from Falmouth University, and was subsequently awarded a scholarship from the Royal Academy for classical study at the Prado museum in Madrid. The artist currently lives and works near Lewes, East Sussex.
Collections
Bunker Foundation (Rudwin DeWoody Collection), LA, USA
Di Donna Collection, USA
The Goss-Michael Foundation, Dallas, USA
Jiménez-Colón Collection Popnce, Puerto Rico
Mougins Museum Collection, Mougins, France
Sagol Family Collection, Tel Aviv, Israel
USAZeifang Collection
Verhuelsdonk Collection, Hamburg, Germany