Ellen Priest

United States  • 1951

Presentation

Ellen Priest is an American abstract artist who is inspired by music and most notably by jazz. She lives and works near Philadelphia. Priest received her Master of Divinity from Yale University Divinity School in 1977 with a dual qualification in Christianity and the Visual Arts. As an artist, she is largely self-taught.

Ellen Priest?s jazz-based abstractions balance directly on the border between painting and sculpture – vibrantly colored spatial illusions when read from a distance, and 3-D relief constructions of layered, collaged paper when seen up close. Jazz has been her subject matter since 1990. Drawing is always central to her process, as well as standing on its own.

Priest?s inspiration comes from surprisingly diverse sources: life-long visual art influences include Cezanne?s late watercolours, Matisse?s color and compositional structure, and Abstract Expressionism, especially the paintings of Willem De Kooning and Joan Mitchell; the rhythmic and harmonic structures in jazz and related African and Latin American music; her athletic pursuits, since her paintings are really about movement. Priest?s favourite sports are “balance sports,” where motion depends on weight and balance thrown off-centre, often in response to terrain, like skiing.
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All artworks of Ellen Priest
Painting, Dolphin Dance 30, Ellen Priest

Dolphin Dance 30

Ellen Priest

Painting - 53.34 x 53.34 cm

$1,975

Painting, Dolphin Dance 24, Ellen Priest

Dolphin Dance 24

Ellen Priest

Painting - 53.34 x 53.34 cm

$1,975

Painting, Dolphin Dance 17, Ellen Priest

Dolphin Dance 17

Ellen Priest

Painting - 53.34 x 53.34 cm

$1,975

Painting, Dolphin Dance 05, Ellen Priest

Dolphin Dance 05

Ellen Priest

Painting - 53.34 x 53.34 cm

$1,975

Painting, Jazz: Thinking Out Loud, Reaching for Song #13/14, Ellen Priest

Jazz: Thinking Out Loud, Reaching for Song #13/14

Ellen Priest

Painting - 76.2 x 152.4 cm

$9,482

Painting, Jazz: Miles Someday My Prince #8, Ellen Priest

Jazz: Miles Someday My Prince #8

Ellen Priest

Painting - 76.2 x 76.2 cm

$11,852

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Who is the artist?

Ellen Priest is an American abstract artist who is inspired by music and most notably by jazz. She lives and works near Philadelphia. Priest received her Master of Divinity from Yale University Divinity School in 1977 with a dual qualification in Christianity and the Visual Arts. As an artist, she is largely self-taught.Ellen Priest?s jazz-based abstractions balance directly on the border between painting and sculpture – vibrantly colored spatial illusions when read from a distance, and 3-D relief constructions of layered, collaged paper when seen up close. Jazz has been her subject matter since 1990. Drawing is always central to her process, as well as standing on its own. Priest?s inspiration comes from surprisingly diverse sources: life-long visual art influences include Cezanne?s late watercolours, Matisse?s color and compositional structure, and Abstract Expressionism, especially the paintings of Willem De Kooning and Joan Mitchell; the rhythmic and harmonic structures in jazz and related African and Latin American music; her athletic pursuits, since her paintings are really about movement. Priest?s favourite sports are “balance sports,” where motion depends on weight and balance thrown off-centre, often in response to terrain, like skiing.

What are their 3 main works?

When was Ellen Priest born?

The year of birth of the artist is: 1951