Welcome to the web site of

Jane Evans ONZM
Artist
Nelson, New Zealand

"My paintings are celebrations, expressions of delight in my immediate environment and the people and events that touch my life."

Jane has been Patron of the Nelson Arts Festival since its inception in 1995, and she was made an honorary life member of the Adam Chamber Music Festival. She is also an honorary life member of the Nelson Suter Art Society. Jane was the resident judge for the first 5 years of WOW. She was a member of the Steering commitee for the Suter 2000 project from 1999 to 2008. Jane was a member of the Trust Board of the Suter Art Gallery, Te Aratoi o Whakatu for two years. She retired from this position in October 2010 and at that time was appointed to a newly created position as "Ambassador of the Suter Art Gallery"

Jane Evans has worked as a full-time painter since leaving art school (Ilam, Christchurch 1965; Waltham Forest School of Art, London 1966). She had exhibited widely both nationally and internationally (San Francisco; Memphis; The Bahamas, USA; London; Ulster, Northern Ireland, UK; Melbourne, Brisbane, Australia; Hong Kong).

“Giving contemporary New Zealand art expectations a respectable margin, Jane Evans has always charted her own course, adapting those aspects of 20th century art which celebrate colour, liveliness, humanity and visual delight within the context of her life experience.”

Today, because she prefers to connect directly with her buyers, Jane sells only through her Studio with the exception of charity auctions. Interested International and New Zealand buyers continue to connect with Jane via e-mail. Studio visits can be arranged through e-mail or phone contact.

Film
'Jane - the Place and Paintings of Jane Evans', 1979, sponsored by TVNZ and QEII Arts Council. Directed by John Reid. Film crew: Alun Bollinger, Michael Hardcastle, Lee Tamahori. Music Stephen McCurdy.
Various TV programmes on lifestyle as a painter.

Listed in Allgemeines Kunstlerlexikon (AKU) (International Dictionary of Artists), 1995.

Jane was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to painting in 1997.

Biography "Jane Evans" by John Coley To order book through Amazon Click Here

Further information about Jane Visitors are welcome to view paintings in her studio by appointment. You can contact Jane at 41 Russell Street, Nelson, New Zealand. Ph:+643-548 4655 Fax: +643-548 4677 E-mail: janeevans@xtra.co.nz

"Young Lovers in New Mexican landscape" with artist - photography by Elspeth Collier Private Collection, Barcelona

Excerpts from the introduction to the exhibition

“The Colours of Nelson by Jane Evans
Celebrating the Suter Collection” held at The Suter Te Aratoi o Whakatu, 27th October-10th December 2006.

Written by, Collection Registrar, Anna-Marie White, curator of this exhibition.

“Jane Evans (ONZM) is one of Nelson’s most respected and highly regarded artists. She rose to prominence in the late 1970s with her exuberant style and bold colouration, during a time when New Zealand art was dominated by a serious and monochromatic outlook. Never a slave to fashion, Jane’s individual streak, both in her art and life, has ensured an enduring popularity and following all of its own.

In many respects, Jane has maintained a distance from academic approaches to art. She found formal art training to be incompatible with her intuitive style; instead, the opportunity to travel at an early age enabled her to study the work of the great masters, particularly that of Chagall, Matisse and Dufy, who continue to be a pervasive influence in her work. Consequently, Jane’s work carries a distinct continental flavour, which places her at odds with national discourses of art. In addition, Jane has never made her work for the gallery environment: she is ever mindful of the domestic viewer and has meaningful relationships with those who purchase and live with her art. This consideration combined with the primacy of her visual language - that being colour - explains Jane’s success as a full time artist despite working outside the conventions of the fine art world.

While international in style, Jane’s painting is very much of Nelson. Her oeuvre captures the iconic traits of Nelson life and has significantly contributed to the visual vernacular of Nelson art and community. One could simply argue that Jane, as an astute observer, successfully captures the vital qualities of Nelson light, colour and community. But Jane is not just an observer-she is an active participant, a diplomat of life whose vision errs on the side of the joyful and celebratory. Her paintings carry a psychological filter in which life’s charms are emphasized- a world where colours sizzle, lines dance and forms burst forth with a rhythmic dynamism. In this respect, Jane’s practice tells us as much about her own philosophy as it does about Nelson and its people………………………………………………………………..

The Suter Te Aratoi o Whakatu has eleven paintings by Jane Evans, making her one of the most represented artists in the collection.”