NEWS
2023 - 2024
Summer Exhibition
20th June - 25th August
Galleri Semmingsen, Oslo
The annual summer exhibition at Gallery Semmingsen in Oslo opened on Thursday the 20th of June, featuring a lineup of gallery artists. I contributed five paintings from the projects Reflections, and Incriminations.
Artists:
Kristian Evju, Roald Sivertsen, Ruth Elisiv Ekeland, Kari Mette Wik, Harald Fenn, Geir Harald Samuelsen, Hanne-May Scheen, Bertil Greging, Fredrik K.B, Jonas Daatland, Théotime Ritzenthaler, Ingrid Hopp Hegg
Panel Talk with Paint Britain - Assembly
18th May
Rye Creative Centre, Rye
As part of the Contemporary British Painting exhibition Assemble, I was invited to participate in an artist panel talk at the Rye Creative Centre on the 18th of May. The panel consisted of Matthew Burrows MBE, Paul Carey-Kent, Paula MacArthur, Geraldine Swayne, Russell Baker, Jeb Haward, and Paul Carter Robinson FRSA.
The panel discussion covered various topics, from generational differences, how to reinvigorate local art communities, and the use of various references as subject matter in painting.
St Leonard’s Meets the World
17th - 27th May
Electro Studios, St Leonard’s-on-Sea
Curator Paul Carey-Kent, who’s home town is St Leonard’s, matched six artists based locally with six international artists who have chosen to live and work in the UK, even after Brexit. The exhibition was curated by Paul Carey-Kent and hosted by the artist driven Electro Studios gallery. Artists:
Hermione Allsopp - Blue Curry
Colin Booth - Koushna Navabi
Joe Packer - Robyn Litchfield
Toby Tatum - Teresa Bušková
Alice Walter - Kristian Evju
More information about the exhibition can be found at Paul’s Art World, or the Electro Studios.
What Are the Advantages of Having Artist Parents?
20th April
Tabish Khan, Elephant Magazine, London
Art critic and writer Tabish Khan, also known as @londonartcritic on Instagram, reached out to me in February, as I had just been posting about my father, who is a landscape painter and fairytale writer. Tabish was working on an article for Elephant Magazine about possible advantages/disadvantages in the art world, and wanted my know about my experience. The article was published in April. Here is his preface to it:
“There are some artists and art professionals where their family connections are likely to have paved the way for their success but what about those who are simply progressing into the ‘family business’. They may have artistic parents or grandparents, but not necessarily those with the type of clout that makes a marked difference in their lives – i.e. major galleries won’t be snapping them up simply because of who their parents are or they can’t rely purely on their parents to fund their careers.
Elephant reached out to several creatives to discuss how their family connections have influenced their lives and career choices. We also spoke about how those who have some degree of privilege can open the doors for others, how transparent we should be in discussing family ties. We also spoke to those with no family background in art to chart how their journeys were different. “ Tabish Khan, Elephant, 20th April 2024
The whole article, including my replies to his questions, can be read here.
Drawing Biennial 2024
3rd May - 3rd of July
Drawing Centre, London
The Drawing Room’s Drawing Biennial provides a good survey of the most interesting artists working across the globe today. This year was my first participation, and I made a small drawing specifically to donate for the exhibition and auction.
Artists are invited to make and donate an A4 size drawing on paper which will then be displayed and auctioned off, as a vital fundraiser for the next two years of the Drawing Room programme. More info can be found here.
Contributing artists: Pio Abad, Samira Abbassy, Caroline Achaintre, Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, Jonathan Allen, Emii Alrai, ruby onyinyechi amanze, Alice Anderson, Mamma Andersson, Uri Aran, Kate Atkin, Frank Auerbach, David Austen, Vanessa Baird, Bobby Baker, Josephine Baker, Amy Rose Barnes, Amelia Barratt, Anna Barriball, David Batchelor, Olivia Bax, Ruth Beale, Antonia Beard, Paul Becker, Rana Begum, Sara Berman, Ingrid Berthon-Moine, Andrew Bick, Vanessa Billy, Sonia Boyce, Gabriella Boyd, Jyll Bradley, Lewis Brander, Jessie Brennan, Koen van den Broek, James Scott Brooks, Pavel Büchler, Miriam de Búrca, Jane Bustin, Faiza Butt, Nicholas Byrne, Muhanned Cader, Victoria Cantons, Juliana Cerquiera Leite, Noor Ali Chagani, Tom Chamberlain, Alice Channer, Paul Chiappe, Jione Choi, Kelly Chorpening, Lubna Chowdhary, Nina Chua, Ann Churchill, Marcus Cope, Shawanda Corbett, Rhys Coren, Avril Corroon, Emma Cousin, Michael Craig-Martin, Andrew Cranston, Martyn Cross, Layla Curtis, Annabel Daou, Kate Davis, Shezad Dawood, Angela De La Cruz, Richard Deacon, Benjamin Deakin, Tacita Dean, Nicolas Deshayes, Jane Dixon, Nicola Durvasula, Chioma Ebinama, Charlotte Edey, Marcel van Eeden, Simon English, Inci Eviner, Kristian Evju, Erica Eyres, Leo Fitzmaurice, Lilah Fowler, Franziska Furter, Neil Gall, Ryan Gander, Laura Gannon, Pélagie Gbaguidi, Jamie George, Joy Gerrard, Simryn Gill, Margarita Gluzberg, Dryden Goodwin, Rachel Goodyear, Alexander Gorlizki, Antony Gormley, Nick Goss, Lothar Götz, Fiona Grady, Jake Grewal, Mary Griffiths, Oona Grimes, Monika Grzymala, Adrian Haak, Jr., David Haines, Maggi Hambling, Susie Hamilton, Tom Hammick, Marie Harnett, Andy Harper, Margaret Harrison, Mona Hatoum, Sophie von Hellermann, Mary Herbert, Saul Hernandez-Vargas, Arturo Miguel Herrera, Lubaina Himid, Paul Hodgson, Amanda Holiday, Louise Hopkins, Rachel Howard, Donna Huddleston, Anne Imhof, Callum Innes, Vanessa Jackson, Marie Jacotey, Ann-Marie James, Chantal Joffe, Lucy Joyce, Karlo Kacharava, Alevtina Kakhidze, Jitish Kallat, Reena Kallat, Laurence Kavanagh, Ali Kazim, Naiza Khan, Fiza Khatri, Bharti Kher, Suleman Aqeel Khilji, Radhika Khimji, Ian Kiaer, Christina Kimeze, Sharon Kivland, Serena Korda, Tania Kovats, Ansel Krut, Erin Lawlor, Deborah Lerner, Dale Lewis, Linder, Peter Liversidge, Fiona Long, Kate Lyddon, Anna Lytridou, Sarah Macdonald, Ellie MacGarry, Richard Maguire, Paul Maheke, Alice Maher, Jessie Makinson, Mahal de Man, Andrew Mania, Ptolemy Mann, Anthony McCall, Eline McGeorge, Jeff McMillan, Emma McNally, Robert McNally, Sam Messenger, Stuart Middleton, Lisa Milroy, Haroon Mirza, Francesca Mollett, Jade de Montserrat, Mariette Moor, Joe Moran, Simon Moretti, Nicole Morris, Susan Morris, Ryan Mosley, Huma Mulji, Ciprian Mureşan, Abraham Murley, David Murphy, Ishbel Myerscough, Avis Newman, Paul Noble, Minoru Nomata, David Noonan, Kristin Nordhøy, Christian Nyampeta, Wura-Natasha Ogunji, Sola Olulode, Julian Opie, Ryan Orme, Hardeep Pandhal, Fani Parali, Manisha Parekh, Cornelia Parker, Anna Paterson, Fabian Peake, Florence Peake, Hamish Pearch, Milly Peck, Anna Perach, Simon Periton, Heather Phillipson, Cathie Pilkington, Diogo Pimentão, Yelena Popova, Sam Porritt, Kathy Prendergast, Paloma Proudfoot, Saad Qureshi, Nathaniel Rackowe, Jagdeep Raina, Kaveri Raina, Anne Carney Raines, Zara Ramsay, Richard Rawlins, Alicia Reyes McNamara, Giulia Ricci, Joydeb Roaja, Francisco Rodriguez, Danny Rolph, Giles Round, Analia Saban, Matt Saunders, Amba Sayal-Bennett, Pedram Sazesh, Keith Sargent & Lindsay Seers, Massinissa Selmani, Seher Shah, Tai Shani, George Shaw, Raqib Shaw, Adam Shield, Daniel Silver, Michael Simpson, Bob and Roberta Smith, Soheila Sokhanvari, Alexis Soul-Gray, Emily Speed, Georgina Starr, Mary Stephenson, Olivia Sterling, Holly Stevenson, Do Ho Suh, Emma Talbot, Anne Tallentire, Liorah Tchiprout, Chandraguptha Thenuwara, Caragh Thuring, Mark Titchner, Suzanne Treister, Alison Turnbull, Nicola Tyson, Phoebe Unwin, Francis Upritchard, Markus Vater, Julie Verhoeven, Jessica Voorsanger, Caroline Walker, John Walter, Yu-Chen Wang, Charmaine Watkiss, Esther Pearl Watson, Alison Wilding, Georg Wilson, Hugo Wilson, Caroline Wong, Rose Wylie, Joel Wyllie, Osman Yousefzada, Jenkin van Zyl
London Art Fair 2024
17th - 21st January
April Contemporary, G4, Business Design Centre, London
The 2024 edition of London Art Fair saw the first collaboration with April Contemporary at stand G4 at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London. April Contemporary had their debut at the fair in 2023, and decided to join again in 2024, collaborating with 5 different artists:
Li Chavelier | Marit Geraldine Bostad | Damilola Odusote | Nam Tran | Kristian Evju
Podcast with Bob Chaundy
8th January
Considering Art, Podcast
In this episode, Kristian Evju talks about his background in a remote part of Norway, the influence of psychology on his art, his time at Chelsea College of Art in London, how historical archive photos and research form the basis of many of his series including those of old technology and prisoner mugshots, and how all his works have a personal connection. The podcast was recorded live from my studio, and is edited by Bob Chaundy. You can listen to it live and see the images we are talking about here.
Lost Girls - Warchild Auction
Opening 11 Oct
Flowers Gallery, London
I have been invited by the feminist group InFems to donate some artworks to a charity auction for Warchild. The exhibition is timed to coincide with the UN Day of the Girl which is when it opens October 11th at Flowers Gallery on Cork Street
'Lost Girls' speaks to all the girls that have been trafficked, displaced or feel psychologically affected as a result of trauma. It is curated by InFems and co-curated by former child refugee and artist Nadia Duvall who is InFems Artist in Residence.
My works will be available through the online auction, but there will also be a physical exhibition of smaller works in the Flowers Gallery space on Cork Street.
The Other
Solo show at Venet-Haus Galerie
29 September - 12 November
PV 29 September, 6.30 - 9pm
Ulm, Germany
I am pleased to announce my fourth solo show at Venet-Haus Galerie. It has been ten years since I first showed with them, and the first time I show in the new gallery space. I will be showing a brand new body of work in the project The Other.
The Other
by Meike Bunkhorst
The Other constitutes the latest chapter in Kristian Evju’s visual library of short stories. It is the artist’s fourth solo exhibition with Venet-Haus Galerie.
Scenes and characters are inspired by found imagery, fragments of the past merged with an imaginary present, redrawn in graphite and paint to take viewers on a fictional journey through time.
Questions of reality and truth lie at the core of the artist’s practice, enhanced further by a growing sense of suspicion and disillusionment in our post-truth, post-pandemic world. The first work in the series was painted during the 2020 lockdown and marks a shift in Evju’s subject matter from surreal familiarity to one of alien dystopia. On which side of a mirrored window do we stand – are we looking through to the other side, watching without being seen, or are we staring back at our own reflection?
Black and white photographs evoke a sense of trust as documents of a past reality, only enhanced by sepia hues that hint at faded prints and long-lost negatives, while gentle pastels and graphic patterns serve as conduits for nostalgia. Kristian Evju spells out his visual vocabulary in drawing and painting to record the physical evidence of his creative investigation.
It is not clear at which stage the artist’s intervention set in, how much of the original portraits were reliably recorded, how much altered and by whom, whether human intelligence merges with machine learning. The Other provides a snapshot of the future in an episode of post-historical fiction.
The Bond is Always by Scent
14 - 29 July
ASC Brixton Beneficiary
Friday 14th of July saw the opening of a small group show by a select group of artists with studios in the ASC Stockwell Road building in Brixton.
Ania Tomaszweska-Nelson | Darren O’Brien | Elizabeth Lecourt | Emma Boittiaux | Eva (Studio61) | Gail Seres-Woolfson | Jini Rawlings | Justine Formentelli | Kristian Evju Matt Jukes | Olympia Alsawi | Samantha Fellows | Samira Addo | Sarah Jane Moon | Stephen Nulty | Sylwia Narbutt Valentina Pes
Nye Takter (New Tendencies)
1st - 31st July
Gulden Kunstverk, Steinberg, Norway
As part of the 2023 summer program, Walter Welo at the beautiful gallery Gulden Kunstverk was showing a collection of artists that he has been showing over the years.
Catherine Knudsen | Frank Brunner | Kristian Evju | Kristin Vestgård Magne Furuholmen | Randi Kristine Strand | Sverre Bjertnes | Anne Kristine Thorsby | Håvard Homstvedt | Hanne Thomassen | Karoline Kaaber | Elisabeth Werp | Charlotte Engelhaart | Eva Solheim | Tom Erik Andersen | Ronny Bank | Elling Reitan | Eva Harr | Gro Holter
Where the Wild Roses Grow
8th July - 13th August
Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Schloss Goerne, Germany
Where The Wild Roses Grow, is the third summer exhibition at Schloss Görne, Germany. Each year, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery invites artists to exhibit works within the dramatic setting of an 18th-century castle outside Berlin.
This year’s edition borrows its title from a song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue in homage to the wild surroundings and the transformative power of art. Untouched for 50 years, Schloss Görne had previously fallen into a state of disrepair – its imposing Neo-Baroque facade rises up between the trees while many of its cavernous rooms remain crumbling and overgrown. The ongoing partnership between the gallery and the castle has breathed new life into the building, supporting its gradual restoration into a vibrant cultural destination where the beauty of art and nature combine.
In celebration of creative solidarity, the artists participating this year have each been asked to make new work in response to a song or a piece of music that has a special significance to them. Some of these pieces will be played during the opening weekend in which the castle will become a site of experimentation and discovery.
My drawing The Promise (2023) is inspired by a song Chris Cornell wrote for Eric Esrailian's film The Promise (2017) - about the Armenian genocide. It was the last solo release from Cornell prior to his death in 2017.
Left: Schloss Goerne, Germany | Right: The Promise (2023) 54 x 52 cm, pencil on paper
10 Year Anniversary Show
13 July - 25 September
Venet-Haus Galerie, Ulm
Venet-Haus Galerie is celebrating 10 years as a gallery in July. I had my first solo show in Germany with Venet-Haus in Ulm in 2014, and I will have my fourth in September this year. We have participated at fairs in Germany and the UK, had group shows and solo shows, and even published a book (Fingerpflanzen, Anna Kim, 2017). On the 13th of July we are celebrating with a group show of gallery artists. I will be showing two diptychs. For more details, please get in touch with the gallery.
Aus Eigener Sammlung
29 June - 1 September
Werner Schneider Collection Showroom, Neu-Ulm, Germany
Art collector and founder of the Venet-Haus Foundation Werner Schneider will be showing parts of his substantial collection over the summer, with pieces by Gerhard Richter, Joseph Beuys, Menno Fahl, Enrico Bach, Barbara Husar and more, including a few of my paintings. The beautiful gallery space is based in Neu-Ulm in Germany, and a visit can be arranged by appointment.
Run without interruption since 1769, the Summer Exhibition is an annual celebration of art and artists.
This year's exhibition is co-ordinated by British painter David Remfry RA, who wanted to explore the theme Only Connect, taken from the famous quote in Howards End by E.M. Forster.
Among the 1,614 featured works you will find towering sculptures by the late Phyllida Barlow RA, Richard Malone’s dramatic mobile installation in the Wohl Central Hall, and a witty painting by comedian Joe Lycett. Plus pieces by Tracey Emin RA, Hew Locke RA, Barbara Walker RA, Gavin Turk, Lindsey Mendick, Caroline Walker and much, much more.
My drawing The Other (2022) is exhibited in room VII, which was selected by Eileen Cooper RA.
RA Summer Exhibition 2023
3 June - 20th August
Royal Academy of Arts, Room VII
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize - Tour
10 February - 26 March
Arthouse Jersey, St Helier
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize is widely regarded as the British Isles’ largest, most prestigious drawing prize and annual touring exhibition. It brings together the work of diverse artists across Britain and internationally, providing fascinating insights into drawing and creative practice in all its forms, from architecture to performance and sculpture to painting.
After the inaugural show in London, the exhibition toured to the Willis Museum and Sainsbury Gallery in Basingstoke, before showing at ArtHouse Jersey. at Capital House and reflected a broad scope of outstanding contemporary drawing practice from across the world.
Alongside the exhibition, there was a programme of talks, workshops and events, including a sketchbook session, Drink & Draw gathering, and music performances. My drawing The Other was showing alongside a wide, international representation of other artists that work with drawing in different forms.
https://www.trinitybuoywharf.com/whats-on/trinity-buoy-wharf-drawing-prize-2022-exhibition