la mère la mer

EXHIBITION CATALOG

List: $40
Catalogs can be purchased via publications@mcevoyarts.org and at McEvoy Arts.

The la mère la mer catalog illustrates the Foundation’s wide-ranging debut exhibition, documenting the strengths and richness of the McEvoy Family Collection. It includes an essay by curator Kevin Moore and an introduction by Nion McEvoy.

The McEvoy Family Collection encompasses the collections of Nion McEvoy and his mother, Nan McEvoy (1919-2015). la mère la mer pays tribute to Nan McEvoy’s devoted, life-long interest in and support of California artists, including Wayne Thiebaud, Richard Diebenkorn, Ed Ruscha, and David Hockney, while showcasing Nion McEvoy’s interest in works by artists such as Anne Collier, Carsten Höller, Roe Ethridge, and Ragnar Kjartansson.

Image Gallery

1/16

The exhibition is organized around a principle of poetic assonance: Works from the collection of the mother (la mère) resonate with works from the collection of the son and many depict the sea (la mer). The combination is more playful digression than controlled planning, and it reveals both commonalities and divergences across two related but singular creative minds.

Originally a collector of photography, Nion McEvoy’s interest in music, design, and media led him to include a wider diversity of forms, including painting, video, installation, and sculpture. Nan McEvoy’s collecting concentrated on 20th-century paintings, prints, works on paper, and sculpture. la mère la mer is co-curated by Nion McEvoy and curatorial advisor Kevin Moore.

Notes Kevin Moore, “Collecting is a process of controlled chaos and deep personal expression. la mère la mer is a tribute to Nan McEvoy’s life, revealed in the qualities of her art collection, and a show of continuance, of renewal, in Nion’s lively and extensive collecting interests.”