February 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cynthia Evans: Reflections, New Work
Exhibition Dates: February 26 – April 9, 2005
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 26, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday: 10:00am - 5:30pm, Saturday: 11:00am - 5:30pm

Koplin Del Rio Gallery is pleased to announce its fourth exhibition with Southern California based artist Cynthia Evans.

Cynthia’s new works are reflections on the nature of contemporary relationships as defined by issues of culture, political views, personal growth, loss, commitment, and memories. The motifs presented in her works possess unique perspective and humor. After a number of changes in her personal life, Evans is especially concerned with family history and how particular images can be used to symbolize larger issues.

Cynthia’s recent participation in the group exhibition, ‘City Dialogues’ has inspired reflections on the writings of Inigo Jones, (nom de plume of Tom Sydow). Jones' stories are about growing up as an American (outsider) in South America and the symbols and culture that surrounded him, as in “Yanqui Go Home”, the isolated figure holding the native condor, further emphasizing ideas of cultural and personal displacement.

The small scale of the work helps draw the viewer into the theatrical quality, and the mysterious affectations of the figures encourage the viewer to construct their own narrative. Using mixed media painting with collage, Evans builds a unique surface texture that accentuates the layers of meaning at play in her work.

Evans received her M.F.A. from Claremont Graduate School in 1982, and earned a B.A. at the University of LaVerne. She was awarded a 1996 Individual Artist Grant from the Public Corporation for the Arts in Long Beach, and has been an artist in residence in Valparaiso, Spain, and at the Centrum artist colony in Port Townsend, Washington. Her work was most recently presented in “City Dialogs” at the Barsdall Art Center, Los Angeles, CA and "Representing LA: Pictorial Currents in Contemporary Southern California Art," which began at the Frye Museum in Seattle, before traveling to the Art Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi, and Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach, CA.