Kevin Jerome Everson
A guide to the moving image artists that move culture → Kevin Jerome Everson sculpts reality and elevates the mundane in his lyrical 16mm films.
Artists
Who is Kevin Jerome Everson?
Kevin Jerome Everson is a multidisciplinary artist working in film, sculpture and photography. Everson was born in Mansfield, Ohio and he received his MFA from Ohio University. He lives and works in Charlottesville as Commonwealth Professor of Art at University of Virginia.
What characterizes Everson's work?
Everson's cinematic output, consisting of approximately a dozen feature-length films and over 100 short films, typically addresses the modes of living experienced by working-class communities, with a special emphasis on African-American communities. His conscious sculpting of reality and his ability to elevate the mundane impart his films with a poignant lyricism.
Everson most commonly works with 16mm film, and his practice is often in dialogue with archival materials. The fragmentary qualities of his aesthetic relieve the burden of providing a cultural explanation in his work, with the onus of comprehension placed on the viewers. This practice sets Everson's creative output in opposition to the traditional scope of the documentary genre and conventions of representational fiction.
Where have Everson's works been shown?
Everson's films and artworks have been exhibited around the world in solo and group exhibitions at: Art Windsor-Essex (2023); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2022); Halle fur Kunst Steiermark, Graz (2021); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2019); National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul (2017); Tate Modern, London (2017); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2011); and Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus (2017).
Everson presented his films at the following festivals and biennials: Sundance Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Venice International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, New York Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival; and the 2008, 2017 and 2012 editions of the Whitney Biennial, as well as the 2013 Sharjah Biennial.
What awards and recognitions has Everson received?
For his evocative and socially-engaged films and art, Everson has been given a series of prestigious awards and fellowships. He was the recipient of the 2012 Alpert Award, which entails an unrestricted $75,000 monetary prize for risk-taking mid-career artists who work in film, dance, music, theater and the visual arts. In 2019, he received the 24th Annual Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities for his “prolific body of documentary, art and short-form films that offer diverse portrayals of the lives and experiences of working-class Black Americans and poignantly explore the concepts of labor and work.”
Over the course of his career, Everson has received fellowships and grants from the Guggenheim, NEA, NEH, Ohio Arts Council, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, American Academy Rome Prize, Wexner Center for the Arts, Creative Capital and the Mid-Atlantic. He has had residencies at Mobile Frames / Media City Film Festival (Windsor/Detroit), Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Yaddo and MacDowell Colony, and numerous university fellowships.
What projects are Everson working on?
Everson is collaborating on a joint opera with the composer David Dominique, who composed the music and sound design for Everson's latest film in the eclipse series (2018-ongoing). He plans on travelling to Algiers and Tangier to witness and record the solar eclipse scheduled to occur in 2026.
Where can I find more information about Kevin Jerome Everson?
Everson has an Instagram account and a page on Wikipedia. He is represented by Andrew Kreps Gallery and Picture Palace Pictures.