Local artist debuts ‘Dear God You Dream in Light’

Need to know

What: Evan Zuercher’s Pop Up Art Exhibition “Dear God You Dream in Light”

When: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday-Sunday, Nov. 22-24

Where: 139 N Market St., Wooster

Cost: Free

PHOTOS BY CHRISTINA McCUNE | DGKN
Evan Zuercher begins to bring the artwork into the downtown Wooster gallery for his Pop Up Art Exhibition, “Dear God You Dream in Light,” which is open to the public 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 22-24 at 139 N Market St., Wooster.  The exhibit happens to take place during Main Street Wooster’s Window Wonderland with activities including Wooster’s tree lighting ceremony at 7 p.m.

Q&A with Wayne County artist Evan Zuercher

Please tell us a little bit about where you grew up, went to school and your art background.
I am a 25-year-old artist who grew up right outside of Orrville and Wooster. I graduated from Kingsway Christian School in 2017 and for as long as I can remember I grew in love with art. After high school, I laid art aside for awhile as I moved to Central America to work in missions and I moved back to Ohio in 2020. Since moving back home I began to experiment and grow in my artistic techniques. I am self taught so much of my knowledge and eye comes from observation, lots of youtube, and blogs from other artists. Now, after about four years I finally have a signature style and something worth presenting to the public. In August of this year I stepped away from my job in order to dedicate myself to seeing this Art Exhibition come to life. It has been both a much harder, time consuming, but also enjoyable and rewarding past two months of working on this endeavor.

Can you please tell us about your artwork? Why do you do it and what do you hope people experience and gain from it? What media do you use?
My work is Conceptual at its core, often exploring the intersection of Divinity and a grounded existence. I am a multimedia artist primarily working in Acrylic painting and Fine Art Photography while also enhancing the concepts through temporary sculptures and installation pieces. My work appears cinematic as if taken from a larger scene, dramatizing ordinary subject matter in conceptual ways. Most notably, I have created a signature technique of using photo negatives in both my paintings and photography. This allows me to twist light and shadows into surrealistic imagery. This creates a visual language for having a hope and perspective that is often hidden from before our eyes. If there is any one thing I hope that my art inspires in the viewer is to embrace and believe in a hope larger than any one person, situation, emotion, or community. There is a much larger hope at play in our lives than we can often discern in any given moment.

Can you please briefly explain the theme for the pop-up exhibition Nov. 22-24 and some more information for those who are interested in going?
“Dear God You Dream of Light” is my debut Exhibition and consists of 25 pieces from the past four years of my life. Each painting, photo and installation sculpture depicts my personal reflection of resisting shame and being covered by empowering grace. It is a collection about discovering a life giving perspective that is always extended towards us and invites us to confidently dream. Throughout the whole exhibition I would love to talk to anyone about the work and answer questions. I plan to be there throughout the whole weekend. The exhibition is free and open to the public every day Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. After viewing the gallery there will be signed prints available to purchase as well as hand printed one of a kind merch designs that coordinate with the artwork, both allowing you to take some pieces home and wear the message of the collection. These purchases will both invest in the future presentations of the collection as well as greatly support my artistry.

What is the next project or exhibition that you’re working on?
The Pop Up Exhibition is a true Pop Up in the sense that it will be on display for one weekend here in Wooster and then move to another place. On a personal note, I was determined to display the whole collection for the first time here where I grew up, and where the art was “born.” The next goal I have for this body of work is to take it to another space or gallery to display it to more people. To follow along on this journey you can view my website evanjz.com or follow me on social media @evanjameszurk.

What is an interesting fact about you that people may be surprised or find interesting to hear?
This question is always hard for me. I’m kind of an open book who does a lot of random things, so what is normal for me is often surprising anyways. I speak Spanish, play guitar and piano, I love singing and songwriting, I dabble in sewing. Hopefully that is interesting enough!