Ellen Harvey: The Disappointed Tourist
Curated by Tina Teufel Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Austria October 24, 2021 – February 20, 2022 Ellen Harvey (1967, Farnborough, UK) is an artist, cartographer, conceptual artist and much more. She uses a variety of media, ranging from classical oil painting to drawing, engraved mirrors, sculptural installation and public works. Her work offers critical commentary […]
DISAPPOINTED TOURIST (ongoing)
THE MERMAID: TWO INCOMPATIBLE SYSTEMS INTIMATELY LINKED (2020)
A painting that contrasts the man-made with the natural landscape, based on a diagonal satellite view of Florida reaching from the Bay of Biscayne through the great watershed of the Everglades to Miami Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. The halfway point of the painting is the transition between the Everglades National Park and the greater […]
TWIN PLANET PROTEST (2017 – 9)
Two identically sized paintings of the Earth and the Moon, suitable for taking to protests. Twin Planet Protest, Ellen Harvey, 2017 – 2019. Oil on two wood panels, each 20 x 20” (50 x 50 cm), wood sticks. Photography: Ellen Harvey Studio.
PICTURE(SQUE) (2017)
An antique Claude Glass (a black convex mirror used in the 18th Century for viewing the landscape, so named because its effect was thought to resemble the paintings of Claude Lorrain) is hung over a contemporary mirror, contrasting the two views. Picture(sque), Ellen Harvey, 2017. Antique Claude Glass, float glass mirror, hook, plywood. Mirror: 23.5 […]
NOSTALGIA (2017)
Two second-hand frames: one gilded and one left in its original mildewed state. Nostalgia, Ellen Harvey, 2017. Two identical oval frames, gold leaf, each: 8.25 x 10.5 (21 x 27 cm). Photograph: Etienne Frossard.
GREEN MAP (2019)
A mosaic map for the new San Francisco Airport Grand Hyatt Hotel that inverts the traditional map to highlight those spaces in the Bay area that are reserved for nature rather than people. A small gold circle indicates the location of the hotel and airport and situates viewers in the landscape. Green Map, Ellen Harvey, […]
NETWORK (2019)
A mosaic for the entrance to Boston’s South Station commissioned by WTS-Boston to celebrate the contributions of women to transportation. The “network” of the title, refers both to the greater Boston transportation network (pictured on the left side of the mosaic) and to the social networking supported by WTS. It also references the hidden work […]
ATLANTIS (2019)
Based on a painstaking full-size hand-painted design that took over a year to make, Atlantis is a tribute to Miami Beach’s connection to the many bodies of water that constitute the larger Florida ecosystem. The original inspiration was a 2009 visit to the Everglades organized by Creative Time and the Everglades Foundation. Visitors to the […]
IPAD / IPHONE ECLIPSE (2017)
Rear-lit Plexiglas mirrors hand and laser engraved with images of the 2017 eclipse for two lovers who travel to see the eclipse but are so busy photographing it that they miss it entirely. IPad Eclipse, Ellen Harvey, 2017. Laser and hand engraved rear-lit Plexiglas mirror, 9.5 x 7.5 x .625 in (24 x 19 x […]
TV ROCK (2017)
A piece of ulexite (a mineral commonly known as “TV Rock,” that acts like a fiber optic cable, bringing the image behind it onto its surface) inserted over a painting of a mid-century television room. TV Rock, Ellen Harvey, 2017. Oil on wood board and frame, Plexiglas, ulexite. 18 x 14 x 1.5 in (46 […]
MASS PRODUCED (2017)
Hinges and other hardware in an Ikea frame. Mass Produced, Ellen Harvey, 2017. Metal hardware, screws, plywood, plastic frame, spray paint, 24 x 33 in (61 x 84 cm). Photograph: Etienne Frossard.
SUBWAY ORNAMENTS (2017)
Ornaments over defaced subway posters. Subway Ornaments, Ellen Harvey, 2017. Pressed glue ornaments made by the American Wood Column Corporation, plywood panels with inset magnets, subway posters, 20 steel panels, black acrylic paint. Dimensions variable, here: 21 ft 9 in x 8 ft (6.6 x 2.4 m). Photograph: Etienne Frossard.
NEW FOREST (2013 – 2017)
A painting that shows the recently renovated Andover IRS Office being reclaimed by nature. New Forest, Ellen Harvey, 2013-17. Acrylic, oil and varnish on 20 wooden panels, together 92 x160” (2.35 x 4.06 m). Photograph: Etienne Frossard.
DOUBLE FOREST (2015 – 7)
Two systems of representations of leaves: a painted forest and neoclassical architectural leaf-based ornaments. Double Forest, Ellen Harvey, 2015-7. Oil and pressed glue ornaments on 12 framed Clayboard panels, each panel 24 x 36” (61 x 91.4 cm), together: (framed) 75 x 149” (1.9 x 3.78 m). Photography: Etienne Frossard.
MR. LUPO’S COLLECTION (2017)
Photographs of 77 sample panels of ornaments produced by the American Wood Column Corporation, Brooklyn. Selections from Mr. Lupo’s Collection, Ellen Harvey, 2017. 77 framed photographs (here 48), each photograph: 19 x 28 in (48 x 71 cm), together (framed): 19 ft 3 in x 9 ft 5 in (6 x 3 m). Photography: Etienne […]
THE WRONG SOUVENIR STAND (2016)
A souvenir stand placed on the streets of St. Petersburg, Russia full of postcards of St. Petersburg, Florida. The postcards were reproductions of actual vintage and contemporary postcards and were free for the public to take as souvenirs. The project was commissioned by CEC ArtsLink as part of its Art Prospect public art festival. The […]
MUSUEM OF ORNAMENTAL LEAVES (2015)
Two systems of representations of leaves: a painted forest and neoclassical architectural leaf-based ornaments. Museum of Ornamental Leaves, Ellen Harvey, 2015. Acrylic and pressed glue ornaments on 12 framed Clayboard panels, each panel 16 x 20” (41 x 51 cm), together: (framed) 69 ½ x 76 ½” (1.77 x 1.94 m).
METAL PAINTING (2015)
Silhouette portraits of every piece of metal work installed at the Barnes Foundation as part of the permanent installation. The panels have magnets inset and are hung over steel panels so they can be endlessly rearranged, unlike the Barnes collection which cannot be rehung per Dr. Barnes’ will. Metal Painting, Ellen Harvey, 2015. Oil on […]
MUSHROOM LANDSCAPE WITH MUSHROOM CLOUDS (2014)
Found painted tree mushroom with attendant mushroom clouds. Mushroom Landscape with Mushroom Clouds, Ellen Harvey, 2014. Acrylic on tree fungus, 13 x 8 x 3″ (33 x 20.3 x 7.6 cm); left plywood shelf, 20 x 4 x 5″ (50.9 x 10.2 x 12.7cm); acrylic on three tree fungi, right to left: 14 x 10 […]
WOOD PANEL CLOUD (2015)
Paintings of wood grain on wood panels. Wood Panel Cloud, Ellen Harvey, 2015. Oil on 17 wood panels. Overall: 59 x 50” (1.5 x 1.27 m).
SUNRISE/MOONSET/SUNSET/MOONRISE (2015)
Two rear-illuminated mirrors hand-engraved with the same image of what could be the sun or the moon. Top: Sunset/Moonrise, Ellen Harvey, 2015. Two hand-engraved, Plexiglas mirrors over Lumisheets, steel clips, each 72 x 48” (183 x 122 cm), together 72 x 96” (183 x 244 cm). Bottom: Sunrise / Moonset, Ellen Harvey, 2015. Two hand-engraved, […]
LOOKING-GLASS IPAD, KINDLE & NOOK (2014)
Rear-illuminated mirrors laser-engraved with reversed images of e-readers displaying the first page of Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass. Looking-Glass Ipad, Kindle & Nook, Ellen Harvey, 2014. Three laser-etched Plexiglas mirrors mounted on Lumisheets with Plexiglas frames and Plexiglas shelf, Looking-Glass iPad: 7 1/4 x 9 3/4 x 1/4″ (18. 4 x 24.8 x .6 […]
TV ROCK MOUNTAIN (2015)
A piece of ulexite (TV stone) placed on a watercolor of a mountain. The natural fibers of ulexite conduct light along their long axes, by internal reflection such that ulexite functions much like a fiber optic cable bringing the watercolor image to the surface of the stone when viewed face on. Viewed from the side, […]