Angelo Evelyn (1942-2023) was a Canadian artist.See: "Angelo Evelyn (Paes Bassi) é nato a St.John in Canada nel 1942 dove ha studiato fisica e matematica presso la British Columbia University di Vancouver." See the publication Incontri con la Paleontologia, V Edizione. Published by the archdiocese in Benevento, Italy in 2009, which is partially available online: http://www.unfuturoasud.it/docs/Abstract-Paleo5.pdf and www.unfuturoasud.it/docs/paleo5-post.doc.). See also: "Angelo Evelyn, born in St. John, Canada, 1942", cited in: Andreas Weiland, The Kranenburg Poems, Aachen and Rotterdam : Symposium Press 2003, p. 83. . – He is frequently mentioned in art journals, thus in 1999 in the art magazine Circa, published by the Artists Collective of N. Ireland (Circa, issue 87, p.5), in the art journal Apex (issue 15, 1992, p.61, which refers to him as the artist from Leinstrand, Norway ("aus Leinstrand (Norwegen)"), in Nouvelles de l'estampe, a professional journal for printmakers which refers to him as "the Dutch lithographer" ("Le lithographe hollandaise"; Nouvelles de l'estampe, issue 195, 2004, p. 194), and in the Hungarian art magazine Új müvészet, Vol. 17, 2006, p.13 (which says about his work: " […] Máshol elszabadult mintázat. pattern tú- nik fei, csillagjegyek belsó rendje, egy hervadó rózsára hasonlító ovális alakzat (Angelo Evelyn)" etc.). In the course of his career, Evelyn resided and maintained studios in Montreal, Canada, Bremen, Germany, Paris, France Aachen, Germany, Trondheim, Norway, and Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Early life Evelyn was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he obtained a degree in Physics and Mathematics at the University of British Columbia."Angelo Evelyn (Paes Bassi) é nato a St.John in Canada nel 1942 dove ha studiato fisica e matematica presso la British Columbia University di Vancouver." See the publication Incontri con la Paleontologia, V Edizione. Published by the archdiocese in Benevento, Italy in 2009, which is partially available online: http://www.unfuturoasud.it/docs/Abstract-Paleo5.pdf and www.unfuturoasud.it/docs/paleo5-post.doc. See also the article by klf, "Heute in der Litho-Werkstatt Wiedersehen mit Angelo Evelyn", in the South German daily Donaukurier, 23 July 2004; also available online: http://www.donaukurier.de/lokales/eichstaett/5EVE24-COL-M-GL-Heute-in-der-Litho-Werkstatt-Wiedersehen-mit-Angelo-Evelyn;art575,804427 (access to complete article requires registration and payment). This newspaper article in the Donaukurier referred to Evelyn as "the Rotterdam painter, graphic artist and lithographer" ("den Rotterdamer Maler, Grafiker und […] Lithographen." – See also: http://www.tbg.de/online-katalog-blue-genes.pdfx.
From May 1966 to February 1967, known as Fred A. Evelyn, he was on meteorological officer training in Ottawa, Toronto, and CFB Trenton with John Gordon, Bob Clibbon, Brian Mason, Dave Philips, Alfred Warkentin, and David Hagborg amongst others.
In 1969, he traveled to England. Upon his return in 1970, he briefly held scientific positions in Montréal while simultaneously starting to paint as an autodidact.See: Nature-D-NatureD. Aachen and Rotterdam: Symposium Press 2003, p. 45. He soon moved back to Europe and Morocco, however, "filling many sketchbooks with drawings and small paintings."Ibidem, p. 45. Returning to Montreal in 1971, he resumed his scientific position at McGill University.
In 1973, he left Canada, settling down in West Berlin where he enrolled in the Free University of Berlin, earning his livelihood as a painter of billboards for major commercial fairs and exhibitions, while also applying for admission at the Berlin art academy.Ibidem, p. 45. – According to another source, he settled down in Germany in 1974. See: Keith Tribe, in: Angelo Evelyn. Gemaelde 1978-1984 Paintings (Bremen, Graphothek 1984), text in German and English.
Art school In 1978, Evelyn learned that he would be admitted by the Bremen art academy (now the University of the Arts Bremen but known at the time as Hochschule für Gestaltung). Here, he studied painting and 3D design since 1979, obtaining a diploma in 2D design in 1983."Tra il 1979 e il 1983 ha studiato pittura e grafica presso l'Accademia di Design e Musica di Brema (Germania)." See: Incontri con la paleontologia, V edizione […], ibidem. See also the respective information given in 1993 by the Canadian gallery Engramme: "L'artiste canadien Angelo Evelyn étudie entre 1979 et 1983 la peinture et la gravure à l'Académie de Design et Musique de Brême en Allemagne." https://www.flickr.com/photos/engramme/4793465359.
Career Evelyn has worked as an independent artist in various countries of Europe after completing art school.Since 1983 he has worked and has exhibitions in Quebec, Western Europe, Scandinavia, and also in China ("Dal 1983 ha lavorato ed esposto nel Québec, in Europa occidentale, in Scandinavia, nonché in Cina.") See: Incontri con la paleontologia, V edizione […], ibidem. See also: "Depuis 1983 l'artiste a travaillé et a exposé au Québec, en Europe de l'Ouest et en Scandinavie." Information provided by the Canadian gallery Engramme: https://www.flickr.com/photos/engramme/4793465359. Having obtained his diploma, the artist moved to Paris in 1983, renting a small studio and engaging in printmaking (using aluminum plates) at the Cité des Artes. The results of his creative work in Paris were presented in Bremen in 1985 in a large solo exhibition entitled Collage - Print - Stencil.See: Nature-D-NatureD, ibidem, p.46.
In Germany In 1985, Evelyn moved from Paris to Aachen, Germany, a provincial town close to the Belgian and Dutch border, where he was able to rent a large studio. In the same year, he had an exhibition at the gallery of Radio Omroep Zuid in Maastricht (The Netherlands).Ibidem, p. 46. During the next year, he exhibited "in the Suermondt-Ludwig Museum"< and had an important solo exhibition in the "Neuer Aachener Kunstverein", both in Aachen, Germany. In that year, he was also artist-in-residence at the Frans Masereel Centre in Kasterlee, Belgium.Ibidem, p. 46. – Cf.
During this period, he sought to reach perfection as a printmaker by taking part in advanced courses in printmaking at the Frans-Masereel Centrum and in other advanced courses, offered by the Czech artist Rudolf Broulim at the RHok (Royal Academy of Arts) Brussels,In Flemish, it is called RhoK – Instituut Beeldend Kunstonderwijs van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap; in Belgium, the two parts of the country, the French-speaking Wallonie and Flemish-speaking Flanders, each have their separate political and cultural institutions, distinct art academies, universities, etc. where he also had a solo exhibition.See: Nature-D-NatureD, ibidem, p. 46. – See also Incontri con la paleontologia, V edizione […], ibidem, which noted that "[...] ha approfondito le sue conoscenze di grafica partecipando a vari seminari avanzati tenuti da Franz Masereel presso il Kasterlee Centrum in Belgio, da Rijks Hoger Kunstonderwijs a Bruxelles [...]". See also: http://www.tbg.de/online-katalog-blue-genes.pdfx.
In 1987, Evelyn was commissioned to do the stage decor for a performance by Tone Brulin's company at the Studio Theater in Trondheim (Norway). The work Evelyn was commissioned to do by Tone Brulin was for Brulin's play Turandot."'Turandot' av Tone Brulin. […] Regi: Tone Brulin. Scenografi: Angelo Evelyn. Studio Teater. 1985", in: SCENEWEB, http://www.sceneweb.no/nb/artist/2111/Bjørn_Myrholdt. It was noteworthy that an avant-garde artist like Tone Brulin would choose Angelo Evelyn for the job.Tone Brulin had been a pioneer of the experimental theater in Belgium since the 1950s. "Perhaps the most important chamber theatre of the 1950s in Antwerp was the Theater op Zolder (Theatre in the Loft), later called the Nederlands Kamertoneel (Dutch Chamber Theatre). Founded in 1953 by Tone Brulin (b. 1926), the company had a particular interest in new Flemish authors...", according to Toon Brouwers, Alfons van Impe, Jaak van Schoor, "Flemish Community (Belgium)", in: Don Rubin (ed.), World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Vol. 1: Europe. London and New York : Routledge 2014 (paperback edition), p.119. (1st edition 1994). – "Tone Brulin […] was one of the first, if not the first, to embark on bold new theatrical ventures." His "experiments" are described as significant. Paul van Morckhoven, Luc André, The Contemporary Theatre in Belgium, Brussels : Belgian Information and Documentation Institute 1970, p.39. Tone Brulin is also mentioned by Mike Sell as an avantgarde "playwright and dramatist" (who gave workshops in the U.S.). M. Sell notes that "Brulin's work in the theater was deeply influenced by the poor theater of Jerzy Grotowski and Eugenio Barba, which attempted to purify the form of the techniques and traditions that undermined global brotherhood by stripping theater down to its barest essentials: the actor's body and the cleared performance space." The American group that Brulin gave workshops for at Antioch College, Ohio, learned from him how to create "true people's theater". Mike Sell, Avant-garde Performance & the Limits of Criticism: Approaching the Living Theatre, Happening/Fluxus, and the Black Arts Movement. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Univ. of Michigan Press, 2008, p. 23.
In Norway In 1988, Evelyn moved to Trondheim. Apparently, this was because Evelyn's Dutch wife Annie who had worked as an actress with the Cirque de Soleil, and who had performed in Brulin's Turandot, had obtained a job teaching Commedia dell'arte at the University of Trondheim (now the Norwegian University of Science and Technology) in 1987. The two rented a farm house in Leinstrand near Trondheim, where he established his new studio.See: Nature-D-NatureD, ibidem, p.47. The years in Norway are marked by seascapes inspired not only by the sea as such. They also comprised ecological themes that echoed his awareness of the Norwegian whaling industry and the industrial traces of the North Sea oil boom. Others were apparently tracing memories of tales heard about his father who was a captain in the Canadian navy during the war, in command of one of those ships that protected freighters on their way from North America to Murmansk.Ibidem, p. 47.
In both 1988 and 1989, Evelyn participated in the annual Høstutstilling, or Statens KunstutstillingSee: Høstutstillingen at the :no:Kunstnernes Hus or Artists House in Oslo, Norway which is described as the "viktigste" (most important) art exhibition in that country. He also received a large grant or stipend from the Norwegian government in 1989. In this year he had also solo exhibitions in Stavanger and in Molde (both in Norway).Nature-D-NatureD, ibidem, p. 47.
Norway and Germany While in Norway, Evelyn returned to Germany frequently to organize his exhibitions, among them the big exhibition in Bremen (Lilienthal) entitled "Bilder aus Norwegen und vom Kontinent" (Paintings from Norway and the Continent).
In the Netherlands He finally moved from Trondheim to the Rotterdam area in 1993. In the Netherlands, he had difficulties initially to find an appropriate studio, and got involved instead in a Hilversum artist cooperative, the Grafisch Atelier t'Gooi.Ibidem, p. 48. – The Grafisch Atelier t'Gooi, established in 1968 with support from the City of Hilversum, is one of the oldest "open workshops" in Holland specifically for artists engaging in printmaking. "Open" means accessible for artists who join the cooperative. ("Grafisch Atelier 't Gooi werd in 1968 met steun van de gemeente Hilversum opgericht en is een van de oudste open werkplaatsen van Nederland.") See the webpage of the Dutch profession journal Museumstijdschrift, http://museumtijdschrift.nl/artspot/grafisch-atelier-t-gooi/.
Activities in Canada, Germany, Britain, etc.