Virtual Artist Conversation: Franklin Evans and Laurel Farrin, June 10

Thursday, June 10, 6:30 p.m.

Presented by the Figge Art Museum

A chat between two gifted artists and a sneak preview of a forthcoming exhibit are on the docket in a June 10 virtual program hosted by the Figge Art Museum, with the Davenport venue presenting New York artist Franklin Evans in a webinar conversation with local artist and University of Iowa professor Laurel Farrin, an event that will find the pair discussing their art practices, the materials they use, and the humor they find in making art.

As the artist has stated, Franklin Evans wants viewers to walk all over his floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall installations. These immersive works are obliquely autobiographical, constructed from amassed art supplies and materials found in his studio space, including artists’ tape, bubble wrap, old newsprint, unstretched canvas, and press releases from gallery exhibitions. According to the artist, the purpose of his conceptual practice to “de-heroize” the artistic process and the artistic genius. Evans, who was trained as a painter even though he considers himself a materialist above all, uses paint to create hyper-realistic, illusionistic effects of layering and wear in these works. He thinks of his work as “the not-quite-finished, the in-transition, the nearly-emerging, the slowly-evolving, the near-end, and the move-towards-erasure.”

Born in Reno, Nevada, Evans has lived and worked in New York City since 1993, and has a BA degree from Stanford University, an MA and an MFA in Painting from the University of Iowa, and an MBA from Columbia University. In the virtual program on June 10, Evans will also give viewers a sneak peak at his upcoming exhibition Franklinsfootpaths, opening on June 19 in the Figge’s first-floor Gildehaus Gallery.

Laurel Farrin received a BFA from Ohio University and an MFA from the University of Maryland, and in 1997 alone, she received residency fellowships at Yaddo, The MacDowell Colony, Dora Maar House in Menerbes FR, Roswell AIR, The Millay Colony, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and VCCA. In addition to her solo exhibition No Particular Order that the Figge housed in 2018, other recent exhibits for Farrin include those shown at the Green Chalk Contemporary in Monterey, California; the Lesley Heller Gallery in New York City; the Joyce Goldstein Gallery in Chatham, New York; and Iowa's Sioux City Art Center. Farrin’s work has been featured in New American Painting and Manchester, England's FatBoy Review, and additional venues that have showcased her works include the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Des Moines Art Center, the Bronx River Art Center, Fordham University, the Florida Center for Contemporary Art, and the Roswell Museum and Art Center.

The virtual artist conversation between Franklin Evans and Lauren Farrin begins at 6:30 p.m. on June 10, registration is required for the free online event, and more information is available by calling (563)326-7804 and visiting FiggeArtMuseum.org.