Evan Lurie

Evan Lurie, Gallery Director, was born in New York, as the fourth, with three other boys. His parents divorced when he was a toddler. His mother remarried a British business man, so he has lived and traveled extensively across Europe. From the time he was five until he was 17, Lurie and his mom made a point of seeking out the cultural treasures wherever they were living. Lurie's father was an ex-Marine who taught his sons boxing. Though he was an ocean away in Europe, Lurie took up martial arts and when he was old enough to think about going to college he returned to the States to reconnect with his dad, his brothers and possibly pursue a martial arts career. He was immediately smitten by New York City, with its feeling of old. He was also able to land a gig as a martial arts coach and stunt man on a CBS TV series, The Equalizer. In the meantime, he was hanging out with his brothers. One, in particular, Bruce, was in the art business and owned a gallery frequented by Keith Haring and Andy Warhol. Bruce Lurie gave Jean-Michel Basquiat his first show. But he wanted to make movies. He went to Los Angeles to see if he could parlay his martial arts training into a career. He was interviewed by action star Jean Claude Van Damme, but when nothing came of it, Lurie took a job as a bouncer at what at that time was one of L.A.'s hottest clubs, the Roxbury. Meeting the right people landed him a role in a Van Damme movie after all and his movie career as a fight choreographer and stunt man had begun. The movies and martial arts enabled Lurie to travel the world. An injury from a movie set however, put him through hospital and made him turn his life around. He and his wife, Jennifer, an actress and model, opened a gallery in West Hollywood and, in the process, helped develop a new district, Avenues of Art and Design, that won a California Governor's Award for Best New Business District in 1999. Soon Lurie was collaborating with his brother Bruce on a gallery in Miami, also connected with an art and design district. Fluent in five languages, Evan has the facility to connect diverse international artists with a network of art collectors across North America. He brings his passion and professional experience from film directing and production into the fine arts business. The result is a fresh look at contemporary art and the founding of a series of galleries from Los Angeles to Miami, celebrated with the most recent opening of his signature space, Evan Lurie Gallery, in Carmel, near Indianapolis. Evan fosters powerful relationships with artists and galleries worldwide, to provide his collectors the leading edge in discovering new and unique artwork. The Gallery has exclusive representation of numerous artists in Europe, Cuba, Canada, and the United States. Evan Lurie now lives in Carmel, Indiana full time.