ELISE ANSEL

‘My paintings are not a critique of the Old Masters but rather an homage that uses their depth and resonance to shine a light on imbalances existent today. Without passion, nothing can be created—or, for that matter, re-created’ Elise Ansel

She begins her process with a series of small improvisational studies, initial interpretations that provide points of departure for her larger works. Using Renaissance methods in the process of scaling them up, her larger works embrace the choreography and consideration of her studies but with an enhanced emphasis on colour and gestural expression. This process of transcription and enlargement explores the lines between abandon and constraint, intuition and intellect and accident and design in art. In the process of reducing her inspirations to their most fundamental forms she retains their power and energy, replacing imagery with dynamic movement and dramatic colour and light.

Born in New York City in 1961, Ansel studied at Brown University before gaining her MFA in Visual Art at the Southern Methodist University. Her works have been exhibited in group shows and solo exhibitions across the United States and the UK, and are held in private collections worldwide. Her first exhibition with Cadogan Contemporary, Drawn from History, was held in 2013.