Chuck Evans

The jewelry and metalwork created by Chuck Evans is exquisitely refined in its construction and detail. His craftsmanship is of the highest quality and is evident through his ability to craft unique objects of personal adornment and functional sculpture. Evans often overlaid metals in distinctive patterns, bringing wonderful texture to the material, which took great technical skill to accomplish. After being in the Navy from 1957 to 1967, Evans came back to school to train as a metalsmith. He earned an A.A.S., B.F.A, and M.F.A. in Metal Crafts and Jewelry, all from the School of American Craft at the Rochester Institute in New York. While there he studied with the renowned metal sculptor Albert Paley and Hans Christensen. Evans then taught at Bowling Green State University for several years before coming to Iowa State University in 1978. He was a Professor of Jewelry and Metalsmithing at Iowa State until 2001 and helped to further develop the metals program in the College of Design. He also worked independently while teaching and much of his art is held in private collections. While at Iowa State he received the Burlington Northern Foundation Faculty Achievement Award for Research and Scholarship and was the first artist to receive this accolade. In 1990, Evans was the first artist invited by the Prefectural Government of Yamanashi Prefecture to consult on the jewelry and textile industries of the region. Since 2001 he has been Professor Emeritus in the College of Design at Iowa State University. Evans wrote a guide for contemporary jewelry making, Jewelry: Contemporary Design and Technique, published in 1983. He is a distinguished member of the Society of North American Goldsmiths and a member of the American Crafts Council.