In her latest body of work “Perennial Trace,” Atlanta-based artist Evan Blackwell Helgeson explores the multifaceted nature of recollection, reimagination, and remaking as functions of growth through layered abstract paintings.
“The line ‘My soul has grown deep like the rivers,’ from Langston Hughes poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” has underpinned the making of this body of work,” says Evan. “A river–in all of its rising, falling, rushing, and meandering– marks time by the depths of its riverbed and the tumbling and softening of its ancient sediment; all the while reflecting the ever changing world around it, and being made new through the collection of falling rain, melting snow, and the persistent carving of new bends. It is both a steady presence and an ever changing force: carrying fresh rainfall over ancient banks; making small shifts over time to create new bodies.”
The paintings in this show evoke a sense of constant transformation mimicking light falling across water, rocks on a river bed, garden blooms, or the canopy of a forest composed of forms that are similar but never exactly the same. Many of the works were created utilizing canvases that had been left in various states of completion over the years. Past iterations became the conceptual foundation and physical substrate for the new; further embodying the practice of recollection and reimagination as facets of growth and modes of evolution.
"Perennial Trace: Small Shifts New Bodies," mixed media on canvas, 48 by 60 inches
"Perennial Trace: What Light Builds," mixed media on canvas, 48 by 36 inches
"Perennial Trace: Shade Tree," mixed media on canvas, 48 by 36 inches
"Golden Glow," mixed media on canvas, 30 by 24 inches
"Evergreen," flashe & acrylic on canvas, 12 by 12 inches
"Lilac Confetti," acrylic & oil on canvas, 24 by 18 inches
"Moonlight Bloom," acrylic & oil on Belgian linen, 30 by 24 inches
"A Chance Encounter," mixed media on canvas, 72 by 56 inches
"Echo," acrylic & oil on Belgian linen, 30 by 24 inches
"Green Hum," mixed media on canvas, 24 by 36 inches
"Timelapse," acrylic & oil on canvas, 36 by 24 inches
"Limelight," mixed media on canvas, 20 by 16 inches
"Breakwater," mixed media on canvas, 30 by 24 inches
"A Flower For Your Thoughts," acrylic & oil on canvas, 20 by 16 inches
"Hot Take," mixed media on canvas, 24 by 18 inches
"Recent Memory," acrylic on Belgian linen, 40 by 30 inches
"Call Back," acrylic & graphite on canvas, 30 by 40 inches
"Left Unsaid," acrylic & graphite on canvas, 30 by 40 inches
"Traces of Yesterday," acrylic & graphite on canvas, 30 by 24 inches
Evan Blackwell Helgeson is an artist based in Atlanta, GA. She received her M.F.A from the School of The Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston, MA; and her B.F.A from the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA.
Through her mixed media painting practice, Evan explores the varied archives and traditions of abstraction that permeate and inform memory, culture, perception, and history; with a primary focus on the means by which nature and place shape our individual and collective lived experience. Her work is focused on the inextricable intertwining of abstraction and representation and the multifaceted relationship each has to the construction of memory and reality.
Evan’s work exhibits in various solo and group exhibitions across the Atlanta area and beyond. Her work, including custom, site-specific murals, can be found in corporate, government, and various private collections both local and abroad; as well as installed in a number of commercial spaces ranging from small businesses to corporate, commercial, and hospitality.
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