EXHIBITION SPOTLIGHT
This page serves as an archive of exhibitions presented by Evoke Gallery since its founding.
CHEMICAL X
CURATED BY: October Sharify
RAN FROM: Oct 18th to Nov 22nd
EXHIBITION STATEMENT:
Chemical X offers a dose of the unreal in an age already poisoned. The artists gathered here, as they mirror back the grotesque comedy of our world. Sovereignty appears not as order but as chaos held in tension, a chemical reaction on the edge of explosion. Tradition is boiled, spliced, fed through machines, and returned as something unrecognizable yet potent. What becomes of tradition when it is reimagined through satire, violence, whimsy, and play?
FEATURING:
Sabrina Zhao (@sasponella) Brooke Raven (@r4444ven) Zoë Chen (@z0ech3n) Sade Coffman (@fkadog) Isaiah Lee (@isaiahleeart) Dante Moore (@zante2222) Xavier Potts (@eck.savier) ARDEN (@arden_glue) October Sharify (@impology)
ABIOTIC
CURATED BY: Fabian Sotelo & Hex Parsons
RAN FROM: Sep 13th to October 4th
EXHIBITION STATEMENT:
Abiotic is an exhibition about the quiet details that keep us alive: the daily rituals, the familiar paths, the textures of safety, and the objects we keep close. In ecology, “abiotic” refers to the non-living components of an ecosystem: air, light, metal, plastic, concrete, fabric. But in our emotional lives, these materials carry meaning. They are charged with memory, joy, grief, desire.
In a world where urgency and instability are ever-present, Abiotic is a meditation on survival through beauty. It’s about the things we build to sustain ourselves, and the material language of the soul.
FEATURING:
Anwar Mahdi (@boi_venus)
Anna Rafalowski (@biedronka_dla_ania)
Day Brièrre (@biomorphia)
Isaiah Lee (@isaiahleeart)
Juan Arango Palacios (@juuuanitx)
Liz Von Hagen (@muddymaychi)
Marcela Adeze Okeke (@maoke._)
Rana Huwais (@ranahana___)
Yani He (@yanihe.art)
HyperREAL
CURATED BY: Fabian Sotelo & Hex Parsons
RAN FROM: April 17th to May 10th
EXHIBITION STATEMENT:
Surrealism has always been a movement of transformation, a refusal to accept reality as fixed, an insistence on constructing new worlds through fragmentation, exaggeration, and dream logic. HYPERREAL presents a contemporary surrealist landscape, where the club kid movement is a central force in expanding the boundaries of selfhood, materiality, and embodied expression.
FEATURING:
VICTOR EDWARDS (@ultraspacecadet)
LANIA SPROLES (@laniasprolesartist)
GABRIEL CHALFIN-PINEY-GONZALEZ (@citrus.history)
ÁLE CAMPOS (@celestes.wrld)
JEREMY PLOTKIN WONG (@jeremy_pw)
JAVI GUTIERREZ (@javi.x.gutierrez)
KEROSENE (@kerosene.333)
BERNARD COLBERT (@bernard_colbert)
LECHEDEVIRGEN (@lechedevirgen)
This exhibition also pays tribute to JoJo Baby, a Chicago icon whose presence in the underground scene embodied the surrealist ethos of self-invention. Their work, like that of so many club kids before and after, transformed the body into an artwork, dissolving the line between the real and the imagined, the ordinary and the otherworldly.
NOT FOR SALE
Photos by Vigo Vargas
CURATED BY: Hex Parsons & Greg Rose
RAN FROM: Jan 10th to - Feb 7th
EXHIBITION STATEMENT:
In an art world often driven by commercialization, “Not for Sale” takes a firm stance against the commodification of expression and spirit. Art is not a product, nor are artists mere sellers; instead, their work is a vulnerable extension of the soul, created for expression rather than transaction. In a society where art is frequently sanitized to appeal to markets, Evoke Gallery refuses to reduce art to mere merchandise.
2024
SPECTER
CURATED BY: Fabian Sotelo & Hex Parsons
RAN FROM: October 12th to November 2nd
EXHIBITION STATEMENT:
Evoke presents Specter, an exhibition that delves into the fragile boundary between life and what lingers beyond. Each artist captures the ephemeral nature of the macabre across various mediums, offering space for works that explore the quiet tensions of our world, and beyond.
We’re curating works that delve into the quiet tensions of both our world and what lies beyond. Specter is a dark and twisted exploration of what lies beyond the surface. From October 19th to November 2nd, immerse yourself in an exhibition that delves into the eerie, the grotesque, and the beauty found in the dark.
LA VIDA, LA MARAVILLA
Photos by Jae V
CURATED BY: Fabian Sotelo
RAN FROM: September 14th
EXHIBITION STATEMENT:
This exhibition captures the essence of everyday life and the subtle beauty in how our customs and traditions transform in a new place. With Hispanic Heritage Month around the corner, Evoke proudly presents “La Vida, La Maravilla: A Latine Art and Heritage Exhibition”.
As we navigate the American experience, our customs and traditions take on new forms, blending the old with the new. In the rush of life, we often overlook the subtle beauty in these transformations. "La Vida, La Maravilla" invites us to pause and appreciate how these new experiences and traditions enrich our lives and continue to shape our cultural identity. Through this exhibition, Evoke aims to bring a deep appreciation for the ways in which our heritage continues to thrive, even as it evolves.
MATERIALIZED VISIONS II
Photos by Vigo Vargas
CURATED BY: Ayrika Hall & Hex Parsons
RAN FROM: June 7th to -
EXHIBITION STATEMENT:
We are deeply honored to materialize our visions of art each day! The opening night of Materialized Visions II at the Black Artists Network, curated by Ayrika Hall, was a breathtaking celebration of Black figurative art and its supporters. Thank you to everyone who came and engaged with the works!
Capturing these moments is our talented resident photographer Vigo Vargas.
Photos by Vigo Vargas
MATERIALIZED VISIONS II
CURATED BY: Ayrika Hall & Hex Parsons
RAN FROM: June 7th to -
EXHIBITION STATEMENT:
Evoke hosted a spectacular grand opening reception for its latest exhibition, "Materialized Visions," on March 30th. The exhibition, curated by esteemed art historian and curator
Ayrika Hall, shines a spotlight on contemporary black artists and their innovative approaches to figurativism.
"Materialized Visions" invited viewers to explore the multifaceted expressions of contemporary black artists working within the genre of figurativism. From paint to ceramic, textile to archival material, the exhibition offers a rich tapestry of artistic visions that challenge and expand traditional narratives.