Evergon

One of Canada’s cultural icons, Evergon maintains a formidable force as an artist, teacher and activist.  Throughout a prestigious career of more than fifty years, he has always been recognized to be at the avant-garde of experimentation in the field of photography and lens-based mediums. Important precursor of homo-erotic contemporary art and iconic figure for the homosexual communities, Evergon has consistently challenged preconceived notions of “the norm”

A significant forerunner in North American contemporary art/gay communities, Evergon’s subject matter has been the source of major exhibitions since the mid-1970’s. In 1988, the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography organized a major retrospective of his work, Evergon 1971-1987, which exhibited at the National Gallery of Canada and toured nationally and internationally.  In 1996, Evergon was awarded the prestigious Bradford Fellowship which culminated in a retrospective at the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television in Bradford, UK and the publication of the catalogue Evergon 1987-1997.  Evergon: Théâtres de l’intime, a career retrospective was presented at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in 2022/23.

In 1987, Evergon was the recipient of the Canada Council Victor-Martyn-Lynch-Staunton Award for his work with large format photography and in 1990 he received the Petro-Canada Art and Technology Award for his work in holography.  In 2023, Evergon received both the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts and the Prix Paul-Émile-Borduas.

Evergon’s works are included in collections including the National Gallery of Canada, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Musée des beaux-arts Montréal, Musée d’art contemporain de Montreal, the Canada Council Art Bank, Edmonton Art Gallery, Agnes Etherington Art Gallery, Art Institute of Chicago, George Eastman House, Polaroid Collection, Musee de l’Elysee, and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, Bradford, England. He is represented in Canada by Ellephant, Montréal and Galerie St. Laurent & Hill, Ottawa.

His dedication to and influence on generations of students is exhibited by his eminent teaching record that includes the University of Ottawa, Emily Carr School of Art, Vancouver, BC, Brock University, St. Catherines, Ontario College of Art, Toronto, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, the Bradford and llkley Community College and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, Bradford, England. He retired in 2015 after being Associate Professor of Photography at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec since 1999.