Downtown

Location

Country: UK
City: Wales
Place: Cardiff, Cardiff Hub

Downtown brings to mind a familiar scene in a town centre somewhere in Britain. 

Despite the shadows we see in the work, it is not clear exactly what time of the day it is – perhaps late in the afternoon? The gestural lettering in the front and on the sides, and the proximity to the traffic lights, suggest a commercial building. From the flat colours in the windows and the brush marks on the front entrance, reminiscent of the colour of boards, it seems possible, although we can't quite be sure, that this building is in disuse and boarded up.  Catrin Evans works from her drawings of daily life, from imagined scenes, or found images. She removes obvious narratives or renderings of people, to present her viewers with scenes that  convey a strong sense of a particular place. They often appear as places that might well be familiar to the viewer, and in their rendering and composition, seem to be telling a story. The built structures she paints, or sometimes simply suggests the presence of through strategic brushstrokes, often convey a sense of isolation. The titles of her work draw the viewer's attention immediately to the main subject of the painting, almost as a prompt to the story plot. Without any clues as to what these stories or narratives are, the viewer has the space to construct their own narrative. Evans works mostly on a small scale in oils or sometimes watercolours and gouache. Colour and ideas of storytelling are both important elements in her work.

Catrin Llwyd Evans was born in Mid-Wales and is now based in Cardiff. She was awarded the Peter Prendegast drawing prize in her foundation year at Coleg Menai (Menai College) in Bangor in 2008, and went on to gain a BFA in Painting from the Cardiff School of Art and Design in 2010. Her work has been exhibited in at venues including LLE Gallery, Cardiff (2022); Royal Academy (Summer show, 2020); Y Lle Celf, National Eisteddfod of Wales (2019); Saatchi Gallery, London (2018); Beep Painting Prize, Swansea; Made in Roath Open, Cardiff; and g39, Cardiff (all 2018); Nova, Royal Cambrian Academy, Conway; Aberystwyth Art Centre; and Arcade, Cardiff, (all 2017); and Mission Gallery, Swansea (2016).

Places

Subjects

Materials & Techniques

board, oil, oil paint, oil painting

Artist

Catrin Llwyd Evans (1988 - )

Title

Downtown

Date

2019

Medium

oil on board

Dimensions

height: 22.5 cm; width: 15.5 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Gallery TEN, March 2022

Provenance

Gallery TEN, Cardiff Wales UK; from whom purchased by UK Government Art Collection, 31 March 2022

GAC number

19068