Evan Robarts: Run of the Mill

Last week of Evan Robarts’ first solo show ‘Run of the Mill’ at The Hole in New York. See images from the show here.

Evan Robarts, installation view Run of the Mill, 2015. Courtesy of The Hole

With three distinct different bodies of work, Evan Robart’s first solo show Run of the Mill is a solid introduction to his work filling the whole gallery space of The Hole. “Line drawings” made with garden hoses and glass of different shades and colours, “mop”-paintings made – as disclosed by the name – with a mop, like one would swab the deck, leaving his boot prints in the pictures. Last, the scaffolding pieces are site specific constructions, where the shape and construction of the scaffolding parts functions as a colouring book for the artist.

What at first glance might seem as a humours play of words (work of art) and materials, Robarts is influenced by Arte Povera, and the exhibition is charged with political and social concerns. Living in a city (he lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) where “the class-based nature of the sanitization of New York City” is evident. It forces “ever-outwards blue collar workers and all but the most financially viable contemporary artists. If no one but the uber-rich can afford to live in the city, where will the experimentation and innovation of untested young artists take place?”

Besides the intellectualised and material-driven aspect to these works, there is also a strong personal, warm or even humorous component.

The show is on up until april 5.