Overview

Elise Ansel (b. 1961, New York City) translates Old Master paintings into a contemporary pictorial language. She mines art historical imagery for color and narrative structure. Her paintings use the Old Masters as points of departure. They move into abstraction by transforming the representational content, which is obfuscated if not entirely eclipsed, by her focus on color, gesture and the materiality of paint. She interrupts linear, rational readings so that the real subject becomes the substance and surface of oil paint, the range of its applications, and the ways in which it can be used to celebrate life.

 

Her work deconstructs pictorial language and authorial agency in order to excavate and liberate meanings buried beneath the surface of the works from which her paintings spring. Old Master paintings were, for the most part, created by men for men. Abstraction allows her to interrupt this one sided narrative and transform it into a sensually capacious non-narrative form of visual communication that embraces multiple points of view.

Installation shots
Exhibitions
Works
Publications
Video

Biography

Education

1993 MFA Visual Art Southern Methodist University
1984  BA Comparative Literature Brown University

 

 

Solo Exhibitions

2020   David Klein Gallery, "Palimpsest", Detroit, USA
2019   Cadogan Contemporary, “yes I said Yes”, London
2018    Danese/Corey, “Time Present”, New York
2017   Cadogan Contemporary, “Amber and Ebony”, London
    Danese Corey, “Dialogue”, New York
2016   Bowdoin College Museum of Art, “Distant Mirrors” Brunswick, ME
    Cadogan Contemporary, “Fusion of Horizons”, London
2015   Ellsworth Gallery, “Far Reaches,” Santa Fe, New Mexico
    Phoenix Gallery, “Palimpsest”, New York
 2013    Ellsworth Gallery, “The Invisible Thread”, Santa Fe, NM
    Phoenix Gallery, New York, New York
    Cadogan Contemporary, “Drawn From History”, London
 2012    Phoenix Gallery, New York, New York
2011   Lenore Gray Gallery, Providence, Rhode Island
2010   List Art Center, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
2001   UMF Gallery, Farmington, Maine
2000   Ruschman Gallery, Indianapolis, IN
1999   The Art Gallery, Hopkinsville, Kentucky
    The Michael Dunn Memorial Gallery, Cornwell-Reed Fine, Art Center, Oakland City University, Oakland City, Indiana
    Krannert Gallery of Art, University of Evansville, Evansville, Indiana
1997   Fine and Hatfield Gallery, Evansville, Indiana
1996   The Riits Gallery, Savannah, Georgia
    Hanes Art Center Glass Gallery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
    Undermain Theater, in conjunction with Kitchen Dog Theater’s performance of Samuel Beckett’s Footfalls, Play, and Krapp’s Last Tape, Dallas, Texas
    Undermain Theater, in conjunction with Kitchen Dog Theater’s performance of Henrik Ibsen’s Creditors, Dallas, Texas
1989   Dance Space, Inc., New York, New York
1987   Dance Space, Inc., New York, New York
   

List Art Center, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

 

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

2019   Summer Exhibition 2019, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
    rePRESENTed PAST, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New York, NY
    Art on Paper with Danese/Corey, New York, NY
     
2018   Ellsworth Gallery, “In the Ruins of the Anthropocene,” Santa Fe, New Mexico
    David Winton Bell Gallery at Brown University, “Pushing Painting: Elise Ansel, Nicole Duennebier, Duane Slick,” Providence, Rhode Island                 
    Danese/Corey, “‘scape,” New York, New York
     
2017   Portland Museum of Art, Biennial 2018, Portland, Maine                       
    Museum of Contemporary Art Kraków, MOCAK, “Art in Art,” Kraków, Poland      
    Danese/Corey, “Referenced,” New York, New York
    London Art Fair with Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London, UK
     
2016   LA Art Show with Ellsworth Gallery, Los Angeles, California
    Danese/Corey, “Drawing Conclusions,” New York, New York                    
    Ellsworth Gallery, “Artists’ Choice,” Santa Fe, New Mexico
    Art New York with Cynthia Corbett Gallery, New York, New York
    AAF London with Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London, UK
     
2015   Phoenix Gallery, “3 Artists,” New York, New York
    London Art Fair, with the Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London, UK
    Art Miami, “Art Miami with the Cyntha Corbett Gallery,” Miami, FloridaSite/109, “Young Masters/ Focus on New Work,” New York, New York
    Ellsworth Gallery, “Far Reaches,” Santa Fe, New Mexico
    Sphinx Fine Art, “Young Masters/ Dialogues,” London, UK
    Royal Academy of Arts, “Summer Exhibition 2015,” London, UK
     
2014   Conigsby Gallery, “Cynthia Corbett Gallery Summer Exhibition 2015, Focus on Painting,” London
    Cadogan Contemporary, “New Year,” London, UK
    Ellsworth Gallery, “On the Brink,” Santa Fe, New Mexico
    Young Masters, Sphinx Fine Art, London, UK                                                     
    Young Masters 2014, Lloyds Club, London, UK
    Cadogan Contemporary, “Spring 2014,” London, UK
    Ellsworth Gallery, “ONE,” Santa Fe, New Mexico                                            
    Phoenix Gallery, “syn.the.sis,” New York, New York                                                     
    Parrish Art Museum, “Artists Choose Artists”, Water Mill, NM
     
2013   Sphinx Fine Art, “Young Masters at Sphinx Fine Art 2013”, London, UK
    Cadogan Contemporary, “Summer Exhibition 2013”, London, UK
    Springs Fireplace Project, “Summer Exhibition”, East Hampton, NY
    Cynthia Corbett Gallery, “Spring Exhibition Showcase Alongside a Selection of Young Masters”, London, UK
    Affordable Art Fair, “Excerpt of Young Masters Art Prize”, Hampstead, London, UK
  Gallery 27, “Young Masters: The Figure in Art”, Mayfair, London, UK
  Henley Festival, “Young Masters: The Figure in Art”, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, UK
     
2012   Phoenix Gallery, “Gallery Artists”, New York, New York
    Cadogan Contemporary, “Summer Exhibition 2012”, London, UK
    Cadogan Contemporary, “Works on paper”, London, UK
  Cadogan Contemporary, “30th Anniversary Exhibition”, London, UK
     
2011   Phoenix Gallery, “Gallery Artists”, New York, New York
    POP Gallery, Portland, Maine
  Cadogan Contemporary, London, England
  Thomas Moser Gallery, Freeport, Maine
  Bell Gallery, Faculty Triennial, List Art Center, Brown University, Prov., RI
     
2010   Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY
    Juror: Robert Storr Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY
  Springs Fireplace Project, East Hampton, NY
     
2009   Clic Gallery, East Hampton, NY
    Springs Fireplace Project, East Hampton, NY
     
2008   Springs Fireplace Project, East Hampton, NY
     
2007   Alpers Fine Art, Andover, MA
    Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY
     
2006   Maine Center for Contemporary Art, Rockport, ME
     
2005   Ruschman Gallery, Indianapolis, IN
     
2004   Alpers Fine Art, Andover, MA
    Lenore Gray Gallery, Providence, Rhode Island
  Greenhut Galleries, Portland, Maine
  Ruschman Gallery, “Works on Paper”, Indianapolis, Indiana
     
2003   Nohra Haime Gallery, New York, NY
    Ruschman Gallery, “Recent Work”, Indianapolis, Indiana
     
2002   Ruschman Gallery, “ Gallery Artists”, Indianapolis, Indiana
     
2001   Boston Center for Contemporary Art, “The Drawing Show”, Boston, Massachusetts
    Juror: Bill Arning, Curator, List Visual Arts Center, M.I.T.
    Ruschman Gallery, “ Gallery Artists”, Indianapolis, Indiana
    ICON Contemporary Art , Brunswick, Maine
  Elaine Benson Gallery, “Re-Emerging”, Bridge Hampton, New York
  Ruschman Gallery, “New Work by Gallery Artists”, Indianapolis, Indiana
     
2000   Maine Coast Artists, “Biennial Juried Exhibition 2000”, Rockport, Maine
    Jurors: Mark Bessire, Linda Earle, Katy Kline
     
1999   Ruschman Gallery, “Gallery Artists”, Indianapolis, Indiana
     
1998   Evansville Museum of Arts and Sciences, 49th Mid-States Art
    Exhibition, Evansville, Indiana
  Juror: James D. Burke, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the St. Louis ArtMuseum
  Ruschman Gallery, “New Work by Gallery Artists, Indianapolis, Indiana
  Evansville Museum of Arts and Sciences, “Eastside/ Westside”, Evansville, Indiana
     
1997   Ruschman Gallery, New Gallery Artists, Indianapolis, IN
    Owens-Thomas Regional Arts Gallery, Southern Exposure, Savannah, Georgia
    Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana Gallery, Annual Juried Exhibition, Evansville, Indiana
    Brenau Visual Arts Gallery, National Invitational Art Exhibition, Brenau University, Gainesville, Georgia
    Krannert Gallery of Art, “Faculty Exhibition”, University of Evansville, Evansville, Indiana
    West Bank Gallery, 18th Annual Juried Fine Arts Competition, Savannah, GA
  Juror: Lisa Phillips, Curator of the 1997 Whitney Biennial
  Pinnacle Art Gallery, “The Low Country and Beyond”, Savannah, Georgia
     
1996   York Street Open Studios, Savannah, Georgia
    Exhibit A Gallery, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia
  Bergen Gallery, “Faculty Exhibition”, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia
     
1995   Haystack Mountain School, “Summer Exhibition”, Deer Isle, Maine
    Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, NC
  Fine Arts Center Gallery, Ravenscroft School, Raleigh, NC
     
1993   Ashwaag Hall, East Hampton, New York

 

 

Collections

Cristina and Joe Craft, Chair, Dept. of Internal Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Arielle Saiber, Portland, Maine
Eli Lilly Foundation, Indianapolis, Indiana
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
Lene Lauridsen and Mogens Fisher, Copenhagen, Denmark
Evansville Museum of Arts and Sciences, Evansville, Indiana
Spring Island Trust, Spring Island, South Carolina
Ice, Miller, Denadio, and Ryan, Indianapolis, IN
Wilfrid Zogbaum, New York, New York

 

 

 

Bibliography

Bibliography

Alfred Mac Adam, The Brooklyn Rail, January 2019
Stacey Kors, ZEST, Winter 2019
Niall MacMonagle, The Independent, December 2018
Cate McQuaid, Boston Globe, June 2018
Alfred Mac Adam, ARTnews, March 2017
David Dorsey, The Dorsey Post, February 2017
Patrica Ramos, METAL, November 2016
Carl Little, Hyperallergic, April 2016
Kat Herriman, Cultured Magazine, Feb/March 2016
John O’Hern, Amercian Art Collector, April 2016
Daniel Kany, Portland Press Herald, Feb 2016
Jacob Fall and Virginia Rose, The Chart, March 2016
Christina Arza, Steadfast Arte, December 2015
Gabrielle Selz, Hamptons Art Hub, December 2013
Michael Abatemarco, Santa Fe New Mexican, Pasatiempo, August 2013
Deborah Weisgall, maine., January/February 2011
Bill Van Siclen, Providence Journal, January 2011

 

Press