Melvyn Evans

Evans’s work is steeped in references to British Modernism of the 1950s, recalling the likes of Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Keith Vaughan, whilst bringing a contemporary illustrative twist to works that capture the power of place within British landscapes.

Working between print, painting, and drawing, Melvyn Evans seeks to capture a human relationship with the varied landscapes of the British Isles, featuring locations around North Yorkshire and Lancashire, as well as prehistoric sites such as Doggerland. Lost to the sea over millennia, Doggerland was the fertile land bridge that connected the East of Britain to mainland Europe and was almost certainly inhabited by humans in the late stone age. Now submerged by the North Sea, is still visible in the right conditions from places like Redcar, and Evans has been recounting its traces in pieces like his print ‘Lost Land’.

Evans has established a signature style of strong, bold imagery, with inspiration coming from the St Ives School, as well as the Great Bardfield artists such as Edward Bawden, Eric Ravilious, and Kenneth Rowntree, who latterly lived locally in Corbridge. His graphic approach to painting and linocut printmaking calls these artists very strongly to mind with elements of the reduced forms of British Modernist abstraction as well as the Bardfield love of figurative art. Further steeped in history, Melvyn creates his prints using a 160-year-old British-made printing press, adding yet another layer of historical significance to his work.

Initially trained as a marine engineer – spending time working on submarines – Melvyn Evans studied illustration at Exeter College of Art and Design and Goldsmiths, London. He then took up drawing classes at the Royal College of Art. He became a professional artist, printmaker and illustrator in 1992. His work has been widely exhibited throughout the UK, including at the Royal Academy, the Royal College of Art and Somerset House.

Exhibitions at Gallagher & Turner:
Melvyn Evans: The Power of Place
9th April - 23rd May 2020