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Photo by Walker Esner

Originally from Boise, Idaho, Evan Paul English earned his BFA from the University of Arizona in 2013 and his MFA from Pratt Institute in 2016. He currently lives and works in Kingston, New York.

Evan’s multidisciplinary practice spans painting, installation, sculpture, murals, and tattoo art. Drawing from his collection of vintage floral ephemera, his work examines themes of gender, class, and queer identity in America. Centering florals—often dismissed as merely decorative—he reclaims them as symbols of cultural, social, and personal reflection.

In his tattoo work, Evan reinterprets traditional floral designs drawn from wallpapers, textiles, plates, stained glass, and other ephemera, into commemorative tattoos that honor both his clients' memories and his own personal history. By reshaping these historically conservative motifs into deeply personal expressions of identity, he sees this process as an act of reclamation.

In his current body of work, Evan explores magnification and abstraction. Using a small viewfinder, he isolates compositions within vintage fabrics, translating them into paintings of varying scales. Within these designs, he subtly weaves representations of the body—disguising anatomical forms within patterns or layering gestural marks onto the canvas. These acts reflect the body's entanglement with its surroundings, emphasizing how our identities are shaped by environment and history. Through this process, he invites viewers to engage with familiar patterns in unexpected ways, fostering reflection and discovery.

News:

Evan was recently an Artist Fellow at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, participated in the 2020 edition of SPRING/BREAK Art Show in New York City,  recently exhibited work at Fridman Gallery, had a solo exhibition with Chashama in November, 2021, and has a solo museum exhibition entitled 'SCRAP BOOK' at The Alice Austen House in Staten Island, on view until Feburary 2024.

You can view Evan's CV and exhibition history here.

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