Artist Bio and Statement

Artist Bio: 

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Kaela Evans is a contemporary artist living from Denver, Colorado. Evans has a passion for supporting her students’ confidence and growth as an educator for over a decade for Denver Public Schools. Before becoming a teacher, Evans enjoyed live painting at shows, sharing her art on the Santa Fe Art Walk, and their art emphasized realism through portrait drawings. However, over the last decade, Evans continued to create through a range of mediums, sizes, and series. Today, they have a range of large abstract series inspired by the intersection of natural geometry with abstract expression. Their work is a visual contemplation on the fluid lines found in the Rocky Mountains and the Southwest, where organic forms meet the raw textures of the earth.

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Artist Statement:

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Growing up in Colorado, I've always felt inspired by the glacially carved peaks of the Rocky Mountains that have guided the rivers for millennia with quiet, slow erosion. I continue to come back to the vast, worn horizons of the Southwest. From the twists and turns of the slot canyons, to the expansive desert basins, and the sun drenched saguaros, I seek to breathe life into the angsty and restless energy of our collective complex lives. 

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Have you ever felt so small while the wind brushed against your face surrounded by incredibly massive landforms, realizing they have been steadfast through every ebb and flow of our American history? Having the realization that no matter the intersections of what makes us all unique, collectively, we can experience the same feelings that arise when you stand in the vastness of our world. But at the same time, recognize that there had to be other people experiencing the lows of a terrible break up and the highs of belonging with people who get you. There’s something so special about this truth. I seek to bring the joys of solitude, adventure, and remain curious about our world through the series I create. 

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My progression from realistic renditions to abstract expressions of landforms using different mediums evolved throughout the last decade. Creating will always be my favorite coping mechanism, my silver lining, a way to process and interpret a world that I do not always understand being neurocomplex. I enjoy drawing and illustrating with charcoal and ink, focusing on the dramatic contrast of natural horizons. Over the years, my work moved from capturing realism to expressing the textures, emotions, and processing the beauty of our world in their large scale abstract paintings using natural textured mediums such as stone and clay. I strive to capture the stillness, depth, and calmness of the rugged contours of our preserved and historic land as an offering to express the shift I have when I am in nature. I invite viewers to hold the tension between nature’s permanence and people’s desire for change as you notice the woven tapestry of lines, textures and sweeping layers of paint.