Jil Evans’ paintings are beautiful. She’s also a thinker who’s deeply ingrained with paint. A founding member of the long-standing Art and Philosophy reading group, Evans strives for meaning in form and color. The Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo is a major influence; she named her dog after him. In keeping with this intense relation to other artists’ work, The Dutch Opera is influenced by painters from the opposite end of Europe. On a visit to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, Evans was transfixed by their Baroque Dutch still-life paintings: work by Willem van Aelst, Simon Verelst, and Jan Weenix. The paintings she made in response take the form of operatic theater; thus, they are absolutely huge. Form + Content is a new gallery, and a lot of excitement has accompanied its opening. It’s a co-op put together by a few of the best mid-career artists in the city, of whom Evans is one. These will be shows to watch. Form + Content Gallery, Whitney Square Building, 210 2nd St. N., Minneapolis; 612-436-1151.
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