ANNIE EVELYN •   Penland, NC

Annie Evelyn is a furniture maker in search of joy, human connection, and self-discovery. Her work has been featured on the cover of American Craft Magazine and published in Agata Toromanoff’s book Impossible Design. She has exhibited at the Museum for Art and Design (NY) and the Museum for Art and Wood (PA) and has several works in the permanent collection of the Tacoma Glass Museum (WA). Evelyn was a resident artist at the Penland School of Craft in North Carolina from 2014-2017, was awarded The John D. Mineck Furniture Fellowship, and was a finalist for the Burke Prize for Contemporary Craft. As an educator, she heads the Wood Area in the Craft and Material Studies Program at Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2019, Evelyn co-founded Crafting the Future, a collective of artists working together to provide equitable opportunities in the arts, where she is currently the Development Director.She spends as much time as she can in North Carolina, where she is a founding member of the affordable studio space Treats.

"Searching for joy, human connection, and self-discovery, I create chairs using a variety of techniques and materials, from wood, metal, and concrete to fresh-cut flowers and costume jewelry. The universally understood “use” of furniture provides the perfect platform for engagement. Some works seek to elicit more elemental feelings –surprise, power, joy, bewilderment, or bliss. The surprise and fear when you think your chair is breaking, followed by the relief and pleasure that it was a trick. Or tapping into the power you feel when “dressing up” in my Static Adornment series. I am a collector of wigs and costumes. I often bring them to commonplace events because I love how people open up and transform in costume. While other pieces use social commentary to provoke thought, they are often self-referential and self-deprecating. These pieces use humor to create a space for myself and others to be vulnerable. They provoke meaningful conversations and connections."


ASSOCIATED EXHIBITIONS

MAIN LEVEL GALLERY

Opening Reception: Friday, March 1st (5-7pm)

March 1 - April 24, 2024