Midcity, Los Angeles
Ben Evans
Xanadu
Allouche GalleryAllouche Gallery, Los Angeles presents Xanadu a solo showing of works by Los Angeles-based artist, Ben Evans. In this new series of paintings and mixed media works, Evans creates a land of voluptuous, melodramatic subjects through his neo-noir, Los Angeles narratives. Drawing inspiration from his surroundings, Evans’ paintings evoke longing and desire, with an ominous stillness among the vibrancy of California. Bringing into question glossy perfection and idealism, Xanadu plays off themes of abundance, leisure and isolation. Describing his works as “pensive and campy”, Evans’ main source of inspiration is derived from the everyday in his intimate encounters. Leisure meets romance as figures smoke cigarettes on tennis courts, stand dazed among palm trees, and bathe in crystal pools. Evans boils it down to “ a realm of cartoon- sized imagery that exists between reality and fantasy”. The drama, exaggeration and performance of old Hollywood is right at the surface in his fantastical paintings. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1995, Evans went on to study at the Pratt Institute in New York and has shown in various solo and group shows in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Hong Kong, and Italy.