英国艺术家夏洛特·埃文斯（Charlotte Evans）个展“鹿心于袖”多伦多开展
（《国际艺术新闻网》记者王蕾 2024年9月18日多伦多报道）艺术家夏洛特·埃文斯（Charlotte Evans）加拿大首次个展“鹿心于袖”在多伦多拉开帷幕。本次共展出25幅近期创作的油画和纸本水粉作品，展现她对母性转变的深刻思考。展期自2024年9月8日至 2024年9月27日，共计20天。
此次展览深入探索身份与归属“母性蜕变”这一主题，反映了一个女人在成为母亲时所经历的复杂情感与变化。开幕式于2024年9月15日（周日）在L.L. CONTEMPOPARY画廊举行，当天有近百位不同族裔的艺术家与艺术爱好者前往观展并与艺术家交流。
British artist Charlotte Evans has successfully launched her debut solo exhibition in Canada, titled “Hart on my Sleeve.” The exhibition features 25 of Evans’ recent oil paintings and gouache works on paper, showcasing her profound reflections on the transformation of motherhood. Running from September 8 to September 27, 2024, it spans a total of 20 days. “Hart on my Sleeve” delves into the theme of matrescence, exploring identity and belonging while reflecting on the complex emotions and changes women experience upon becoming mothers. The opening reception took place on Sunday, September 15, 2024, at L.L. CONTEMPORARY Gallery. Nearly 100 artists and art enthusiasts from various backgrounds attended the event and engaged in conversation with the artist.
“鹿（露）心于袖”这一展览标题富有双关意义，既表达了真实情感的外露，又与作品主题紧密相连。“Hart”是古英语中鹿的意思，这组作品始于一幅名为“Stag”的画作，一幅关于鹿的作品。这不仅是对她艺术创作的阐释，更是对她个人经历的深刻反思。
The title of the exhibition, “Hart on my Sleeve,” is a play on words that expresses both the exposure of genuine emotions and a close connection to the theme of the work. ‘Hart’ is the Old English word for deer. The painting that began this body of work, ‘Stag’, features a deer. This title not only reflects her artistic vision but also serves as a deep exploration of her personal experiences.
夏洛特·埃文斯表示，她认为颜色能够引发人们的各种感觉，与图案结合使用时，能够很好地暗示和定义画作的层次和深度，而不依赖于传统的透视技巧。在创作中，当她发现纯粹的风景画中探索光线和色彩并不能完全满足她的艺术探索时，她就想结合线条和色彩来讲述一个故事。成为母亲后，她试图将母亲和艺术家的角色分开，但发现很难。随着孩子们长大，她逐渐意识到可以融合这两种身份。她透露，经历产后抑郁症和临近更年期挑战的斗争，引发了她对女性在个人、身体和社会层面所经历的变化的兴趣。她会通过自己的作品探索这些变化，并希望看到更多关于女性经历的对话。埃文斯还强调，讨论不应局限于女性艺术家创作的作品，而应该让每个人都参与其中。她希望自己的作品能够支持和鼓励其他女性，帮助她们面对和讨论不愉快或不舒服的话题。最后她表示艺术创作不仅应该是美丽的，还应该引发对话和思考.
Artist Charlotte Evans said she believes that color can trigger a variety of feelings in people, and when combined with patterns, it can suggest and define the layers and depth of a painting without relying on traditional perspective techniques. In her creative process, she found that exploring light and color in pure landscape painting could not fully satisfy her artistic exploration, leading her to combine lines and colors to tell a story. After becoming a mother, she tried to separate the roles of mother and artist but found it difficult. As her children grew, she gradually realized she could merge these two identities. She revealed that her struggle with postpartum depression and the challenges of approaching menopause sparked her interest in the changes women experience on personal, physical, and social levels. Through her work, she plans to explore these changes and hopes to foster more dialogue about women’s experiences. She emphasizes that the discussion should not be limited to works created by female artists, but should involve everyone. She hopes her work can support and encourage other women, helping them confront and discuss uncomfortable topics. Finally, she states that artistic creation should not only be beautiful but should also provoke dialogue and thought.
艺术家纳瓦·瓦克斯曼说：“这是一个充满象征意义的虚构世界，人、动物、鸟类的拟人化形态营造出独特的视觉效果，神话与抽象矛盾之间的视觉舞蹈，让我仿佛在观看一幕幕场景在瞬间展开。一些图像或图片似乎在一瞬间变成了完全不同的画作，给人一种作品内部运动的感觉，展现了不同的地点和场景。”她还表示女性艺术家的崛起与当今世界息息相关。在数字时代，她们能够使用不同的媒介重建形象。尽管绘画是传统媒介，但现代女性艺术家通过跨媒介实践，自由地在媒介之间移动，创造新的表现模式。作为女性艺术家，创作不仅关乎艺术，还涉及身份、出身和文化背景这些因素带来挑战，同时也提供了传达自我意识和生活经历的机会。
Artist Nava Waxman said: “This is a fictional world full of symbolic meanings. The anthropomorphic forms of people, animals, and birds create a unique visual effect. The visual dance between mythology and abstract contradictions makes me feel like I am watching a scene unfold instantly. Some images or pictures seem to become entirely different paintings in a moment, giving a sense of movement within the work, revealing different places and scenes.” She also noted that the rise of female artists is closely tied to today’s world. In the digital age, they can reconstruct images through various media. While painting remains a traditional medium, modern female artists often move between mediums through cross-media practice to create new forms of expression. For Waxman, as a female artist, creation is about more than art; it encompasses identity, origin, and cultural background. These elements present challenges but also provide opportunities to express self-awareness and life experiences.
原列治文山市城市设计部门经理梁颐静说：“这是一场非常女性化的展览，融入了插画的传统，作品描述了女性身份和诞生的过程，反映了生命不同阶段的变化。”她还提到:“我们在生活中扮演的各种角色，随着时间的推移，所有的经历和角色最终融合在一起，逐渐接近真实的自我，但这个过程需要很长时间，因为我们从小就被教导要以某种方式生活，不断完善这些角色，直到真正回归自我”。最后她强调，无论扮演什么角色，最终都要努力成为真实的自己。
Former Manager of Urban Design and Heritage for the City of Richmond Hill, Joanne Leung, said: “This is a very feminine exhibition that incorporates the tradition of illustration. The works describe the process of female identity and birth, reflecting the changes at different stages of life.” She added, “The various roles we play in life, over time, eventually merge together, gradually leading us toward our true selves. However, this process takes time because, from childhood, we are taught to live in a certain way and continually perfect these roles before truly returning to who we are.” Finally, she emphasized that, no matter the role you play, you must ultimately strive to be your authentic self.
日本艺术家井上拓哉说：“我非常高兴能参加夏洛特·埃文斯的展览。我发现她用古希腊神话中的戴安娜和阿克特翁来描述自己成为母亲的经历，这非常有趣。她对色彩的运用非常有活力也很独特。‘Stag’这幅画让我印象深刻。埃文斯在画面上使用复杂的形状、颜色和相交的线条，让我想到了人、动物和自然之间的联系以及自然界中存在的牢固纽带。我对她作品中变换的表达方式很感兴趣，特别是她引用了古希腊神话。它让我思考生活如何快速变化，但之前的架构仍然存在,并且运用无拘束的线条与创作方式清晰刻画了一段记忆。”
Japanese artist Takuya Inoue said, “I am very happy to attend Charlotte Evans’ exhibition. I found it fascinating that she used the ancient Greek mythology of Diana and Actaeon to express her experience of becoming a mother. Her use of color is vivid and unique. The painting ‘Stag’ touched me deeply. Evans’ use of complex shapes, colors, and intersecting lines on a flat surface made me reflect on the connections between people, animals, and nature, and the powerful bonds that exist in the natural world. I am intrigued by how she evokes change in her work, particularly through her references to ancient Greek mythology. She made me consider how life changes quickly, yet old structures persist. In her paintings, memory is clearly depicted through unconstrained lines and composition.”
OCAD在读本科生郑龙轩说：“我很喜欢这些作品的色彩，浓而不俗。她是通过西方传统罩染的技法结合神话故事来表达自己身份的变化。东方与西方的艺术教育存在明显差异。东方艺术更加强调整体性，注重颜色的搭配与和谐，常常受到老师的指导，遵循一定的规范。而西方艺术则强调自由，艺术家可以大胆地运用各种颜色，追求直观的美感，不拘泥于传统的规则。艺术的核心在于表达与展示自我，我们需要在扎实的基本功与自由的创作之间找到平衡点，这样不仅能提升我们的创作水平，也有助于我们更好地融入艺术界。对于年轻的亚洲艺术家而言，放开心态尤为重要”。
Leon Zheng, an undergraduate student at OCAD University, said, “I really like the colors in these works; they are rich but not gaudy. The artist combines traditional Western glazing techniques with mythological stories to express changes in identity. There are clear differences in art education between the East and the West. Eastern art emphasizes the whole, color harmony, and balance, often guided by teachers and adhering to certain norms. In contrast, Western art focuses on freedom, allowing artists to boldly use various colors and pursue intuitive beauty without being bound by traditional rules. The essence of art is to express and reveal oneself. We need to find a balance between solid foundational skills and free creation. This not only enhances our creative abilities but also helps us better integrate into the art world. For young Asian artists, it is especially important to open their minds.”
此次画展不仅展示了女性在不同阶段的变化，以女性艺术家的视角通过细腻的笔触和深刻的主题，带领观众思考女性身份的复杂性和多样性，还展现了女性在社会中所扮演的多重角色。这些角色不仅是外在的表现，更是内心自我的一部分。
This exhibition not only showcases the changes women experience at different stages of life but also encourages the audience to reflect on the complexity and diversity of female identity through the perspectives of women artists, using delicate brushwork and profound themes. It highlights the multiple roles that women play in society, roles that are not only outward expressions but also integral to their inner selves.
夏洛特·埃文斯 1981年出生于英国伦敦，目前工作和生活于多伦多。她曾在Byam Shaw School of Art攻读纯艺，该校现已并入伦敦中央圣马丁艺术与设计学院。2011年，她从伦敦搬到纽约布鲁克林，加入了Wayfarers工作室，并担任顾问委员会成员。之后，她与家人一起移居加拿大。尽管在孩子年幼时暂停了展览活动，埃文斯仍坚持创作，并于2022年11月在伦敦的一场群展中回归。此后，她于2023年在坎迪达·史蒂文斯画廊（Candida Stevens Gallery）举办了个展，并于2024年春季在该画廊参与了一次双个展，随后在旧金山的Marrow画廊举办了另外一场个展。她的作品被多家公共和私人机构收藏，包括瑞银集团（UBS）和英国帝国理工学院医疗慈善艺术收藏等（Imperial College Healthcare Charity Art Collection in the UK）。
Charlotte Evans is a British artist (b,1981, London, UK) living and working in Toronto. She studied fine art at Byam Shaw, now part of Central St. Martins, UAL in London. She left London for New York in 2011 where she worked from a studio at Brooklyn Wayfarers where she also served as an advisory board member before moving to Canada with her young family. Though still very much making work, Evans stepped back from exhibiting for a period whilst her children were very young, returning with a group show in London in November 2022, a solo with Candida Stevens Gallery in 2023, a duo show with Candida in the Spring of 2024 quickly followed by a solo show at Marrow Gallery in San Francisco. Her work is held in public and private collections around the globe including that of the UBS bank and the Imperial College Healthcare Charity Art Collection in the UK.
