Interviews/Press:
About the Artist:
Ellen Sherman is a visual artist living and working in Ann Arbor, MI. Ellen received her BFA in Studio Art from Michigan State University and spent a decade in Miami before settling back in Ann Arbor, where she maintains a studio and small gallery space. Her work has been shown across the US and internationally, and continues to evolve through an active studio practice rooted in process, material, and the ongoing question of how disparate parts become a whole.
When Ellen is not at her studio she can be found hiking with her dog, reading or tending to her numerous plants.
Statement:
My work explores the relationship between fragment and whole, cutting apart paintings and reassembling individual pieces into a new collective form; renewal and rebirth. My practice centers on the exploration of materials and the life cycles of work.
I begin with a painting, either made specifically for the piece or a previously finished work and cut it apart. These pieces are then combined with others if necessary and reassembled according to the interaction or theme I’m trying to explore. The resulting pieces range from minimal, overlapping forms that hint at fleshy, organic shapes - to chaotic, jazz-like gardens of color and space.