Royal College Talent Pam Evelyn Joins Pace Gallery

The young British painter and Royal College of Art graduate Pam Evelyn has joined Pace Gallery.

Her debut exhibition with the blue-chip gallery, A Handful of Dust (6–30 September 2023) will span two floors of Pace Gallery’s London space featuring works produced both in London and during her residency at Porthmeor Studios, St. Ives.

Evelyn’s canvases conjure expressive layers of oil paint, which she scrapes back and works upon, akin to a sculptor’s use of clay. Canvases range from one to over three metres in height, attesting to the artist’s highly physical process.

In April 2022, Ocula Director Rory Mitchell visited Evelyn’s studio in East London to discuss her handling of paint, admiration for American abstract expressionist painter Helen Frankenthaler, and the latest developments in her practice.

‘Half of what painting is is resisting the act of painting and living with it. Then sometimes you summon up the courage to dive back into it.’ explains Evelyn.

Pace Gallery’s announcement follows a busy run for the London-based artist who has received a great deal of attention from galleries since enrolling at London’s Royal College of Art in 2019.

Before graduating, she was the subject of a solo exhibition at Peres Projects, Berlin (2021), and a well received sell-out at The Approach gallery in London (2022).

Main image: Pam Evelyn, 2021. Courtesy the artist and The Approach. Photo: Michael Brzezinski.