ETHAN EDVENSON
SEPTEMBER 1-29, 2023
Snap Space Gallery
New Miracles
New Miracles is a body of mixed media installation drawings detailing some of various anomalies in my day to day life so far this year. These anomalies include strange but significant interactions with strangers, abnormal events, connections I have made, and anything that interrupts the momentum of a normal day, for better or worse.
These drawings are made on layers of Bristol board, mainly with India ink and pastel. Each piece uses dynamic and gestural figures/forms in surreal, layered scenes that implement loose storytelling and give insight to my inner world. These shaped, unframed forms emulate
designs found in nature such as plant patterns, veiny, visceral appearing blobs, and stringy, hairy lines coming out all over. I like to imagine them as beautiful parasites/creatures on the wall, graphed with information. I aim to express the energy of life itself through absurdity and
give the feeling a real human being created this work with a genuine purpose.
Through these drawings, viewers are invited to slow down and become more aware of the present moments in their life and the larger picture of their existence. With so much happening in each of our lives, it’s easy to run on auto-pilot, react negatively to even the slightest inconvenience, or not see our fellow humans as beautiful souls. I hope viewers will appreciate the miracles they witness every single day, sense the world around them outside of themselves in kindness, and gain a perspective of turning negative experiences into positive ones as we traverse time.
About the Artist
Ethan Edvenson is an emerging artist from Des Moines, Iowa who creates mixed media drawings. He conveys individualism, humor, truth, and eternity through gestural mark making, surreal imagery, and storytelling in his heavily layered pieces.
Edvenson graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 2020 with a BFA in studio art and a minor in Art History. Since then, he has exhibited his work in many solo and group exhibitions around the Midwest while also working on a digital collage graphic novel and film projects.