Nocturnes

Woodruff Winter Nocturne I

Charcoal on Paper

18"x18"

Allen Bannister’s Nocturnes is an ode to the hidden bits of nature throughout his city, focusing on scenes of natural beauty throughout Indianapolis under the shroud of night. Bannister is a self-proclaimed city-dweller but is a nature lover at his core. He uses dark charcoal drawings to highlight aspects of the city that are often overlooked in broad daylight. “What I like about the nighttime in Indianapolis is how street lamps can sometimes highlight trees or just clumps of branches, and everything else is shrouded in darkness,” Bannister says. 

Nocturnes presents images drawn from several years of photographs and late-night walks through neighborhoods that Bannister has lived in throughout Indianapolis, with scenes from Broad Ripple, Woodruff Place, Fountain Square, and many others that Indianapolis locals know and love transformed into serene, moon-lit vignettes of nature. With charcoal, Bannister can “draw with darkness,” building up values with powdered charcoal and defining figures further with vine charcoal. The final step of the drawing is to carve the darkness away, pulling highlights from the street lamps and the moon through the shadows. “The medium lends itself to conveying mystery and darkness,” Bannister says, making charcoal the perfect medium to convey these almost ethereal nighttime snapshots of Indianapolis.  

Moon over Midtown

Charcoal on Paper

11"x12"

Fountain Square Nocturne

Charcoal on Paper

18"x18"

The show can be viewed anytime during the month of April in the City Gallery during Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. The works can also be viewed and purchased on our online gallery through May.