13/09/2026
Artist Spotlight: ✨
📍 Venue - 12 Park Avenue
If you like your art with a healthy dose of nostalgia, humour and the unexpected, make sure you seek out Phil Evans at 12 Park Avenue. Born in Shropshire and originally trained in Fine Art in Hull, Phil has been based in Bristol for the past 20 years, working as a sculptor, printmaker and educator. His work has been exhibited across the UK, including in Bristol, London, Hull and Newcastle.
Phil describes his recent work as “constructed drawings” and that description only begins to tell the story. Wood, plastic, found objects and all manner of rescued bits and pieces are collaged together to create wonderfully quirky works that sit somewhere between drawing, sculpture and Pop Art. Many of the materials have been collected from piles of detritus and then carefully saved…sometimes for years…waiting for exactly the right moment to find their place in a new artwork.
There’s something particularly lovely about that idea…objects that might otherwise be overlooked, discarded or forgotten are given a second life. Nostalgia is woven through the work too. One piece created especially for this year’s Art on the Hill features plastic lids from tubes of Smarties, collected from the pavements of Hull decades ago. What was once litter becomes part of a colourful, playful artwork…a tiny piece of everyday history transformed into something completely new.
Words are increasingly important in Phil’s work, often appearing alongside the materials and imagery. Song titles, lyrics and references to popular culture bring another layer of recognition and memory. Add bold colour, wit and a generous sprinkling of Pop Art and the result is unmistakably Phil.
Constructed drawings, some with words, some with songs, a pinch of nostalgia and some “Pop Art” sprinkles…as Phil himself puts it rather wonderfully…
“People seem to like them.”
We think you will too.
Find Phil Evans on the Art on the Hill trail and discover what happens when forgotten objects, popular culture, colour and a wicked sense of humour come together.
