Inscapes

February 26 — July 2, 2021
Watson Galleries

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Inscapes: Paintings by Evelyn Dawson

Inscapes features colorful abstract paintings by Evelyn Dawson (1909-1990). Best known as designer of “Suzy Perette,” a popular mid-1950s dress label, Dawson also danced with the Denishawn Dance Company, a leading modern dance troupe, and wrote novels and poetry, although she never published. Influenced by abstract expressionism, she called her paintings “inscapes” as reflections of her inner psyche not based on observation. This exhibition is part of the Museums’ mindfulness initiative, and supports W&L’s Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program’s 20th anniversary. In partnership with wluLex, the exhibition includes student-curated pairings of music with paintings. To explore the virtual gallery: click and drag to rotate room view; click directly on paintings and text panels to enlarge; and click the white square icons next to each painting to view label information.

"For me the painting is an ocean of emotions splashed on a canvas. It allows one to let out these feelings too. Dawson has used a variety of dark colors which for me, symbolize the inner turmoil she was facing. It also allows the viewer to come to term with their own inner turmoil. I can feel anger, rage, but most importantly, I can feel the hurt this painting symbolizes. Moreover, the different shades accompanying the overall red exemplify the mixed emotions—there in the dark black is anger and hatred, the yellow for the softer experience, and the overall red for hurt. Overall, this does a great job in making the viewer accept this inner turmoil." — Diwesh Kumar '24 'on "Judgement"

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