CHOCOLATE BOX LANDSCAPES
Overly saccharine landscapes used to be derogatively referred to as “chocolate box” landscapes, referencing the landscapes printed on boxes of chocolates. This project takes the old insult literally and inverts it in three convenient sizes. Chocolate Box Landscapes, Ellen Harvey, 2010. Oil on wood panels, small: 32 x 32” (81 x 81 cm), medium: 39 […]
BLACK PAINTINGS (after Petrie) (2010)
A series of paintings inspired by engravings by George Petrie (1790 – 1866). Black Paintings (after Petrie), Ellen Harvey, 2010. Oil on 27 wood panels; together: 30 x 56” (76 x 142 cm). Photograph: Ellen Harvey Studio.
BROKEN CLAUDE GLASS (2010)
A Claude Glass, so called because the effect was thought to recall the paintings of Claude Lorrain, is a slightly convex dark mirror used by artists and tourists in the 18th Century to view the landscape. The convexity of the mirror condenses the view into a manageable composition, and the dark tint exaggerates its relative […]
SOUVENIRS OF ARMAGEDDON (2009)
Paintings of fictional Polaroids of the Apocalypse based on images sourced from the web of forest fires. Top, left to right: Souvenirs of Armageddon (Burning Landscape), Ellen Harvey, 2009. Oil on wood panel 30 x 30” (76 x 7 cm). Souvenirs of Armageddon: (Burning Forest), Ellen Harvey, 2009. Oil on wood panel, 20 x 20” […]
DOUBLES (2009 – 2012)
Paintings of fictional Polaroids of unique events painted twice. (top to bottom) Double Shooting Star, Double Lightning Strike, Double Rainbow, Double Wildfire, Double Twister, Ellen Harvey, 2009 – 2012. All oil on two wood panels, 30 x 30″ (76 x 76 cm) each. Photography: Etienne Frossard.
HOME OF THE STARS (2009)
Yankee Stadium’s motto may be “the Home of the Stars” but in the busy streets of the Bronx where the city lights drown out the sky, it’s easy to forget the real stars. In this mosaic, as passersby walk towards Yankee Stadium, the sun sets and the stars come out to welcome them. The hand-made […]
NO ART WITHOUT PAIN (2010)
Watercolors based on famous painting of wounded saints and historical figures. Top row, left to right: No Art without Pain (after Delacroix’s The Death of Sardanapalus), (after Zurbaran’s The Blessed Henry Sujo), (after Bourdon’s Death of Dido), all watercolor on paper, 20 x 16” (40.6 x 50.8 cm). Photography: Ellen Harvey Studio. Middle row, left […]
MY COLLECTION INADEQUATELY DOCUMENTED (2009)
A series of paintings of Polaroids taken in the mirror of the artist’s collection of artworks. My Collection Inadequately Documented, Ellen Harvey, 2009. Oil on wood panels, each 20 x 20” (51 x 51 cm). Photography: Ellen Harvey Studio.
OBSERVATIONS RELATIVE CHIEFLY TO PICTURESQUE BEAUTY (2009)
A fictional archive of watercolors of the Citadel Park (built in 1913) in Gent, Belgium, supposedly produced by the Reverend William Gilpin (1724-1804), who popularized the term “picturesque” in his popular guidebooks to the English countryside. The watercolors document Gilpin’s impossible visit to the park and attempt to shoehorn the park into his aesthetic preferences, […]
THE ROOM OF SUBLIME WALLPAPER (I) (2008)
Angled mirrors hung over newspaper on the back wall of a wooden room reflect a decorative painting of a doubled view of St. Bernard’s Pass on the two side walls. Upon entering, the viewer’s reflection becomes visible, breaking the illusion of a salon-style hanging of landscape “paintings.” Room of Sublime Wallpaper (I) (rear view from […]
THE ROOM OF SUBLIME WALLPAPER (II) (2008)
Angled mirrors hung over newspaper on the back wall of a wooden room reflect a decorative painting of an imaginary doubled landscape on the two side walls. Upon entering, the viewer’s reflection becomes visible, breaking the illusion of a salon-style hanging of landscape “paintings.” Room of Sublime Wallpaper (I) (rear view from outside), Ellen Harvey, […]
THE MUSEUM OF FAILURE (2008)
A hand-engraved rear-illuminated mirror (The Collection of Impossible Subjects) depicts a museum wall hung salon-style with empty frames, with one frame opening onto a trompe l’oeil painting (Invisible Self-Portrait in My Studio) based on a flash photograph of an identically installed and framed collection of mirrors reflecting the artist working on the painting. A Polaroid […]
100 VISITORS TO THE BIENNIAL IMMORTALIZED (2008)
One hundred visitors to the Whitney Biennial each received a fifteen-minute pencil portrait in exchange for filling out an evaluation of the finished drawing. The portraits and evaluations were exhibited, scanned and the originals mailed to the participants. 100 Visitors to the Biennial Immortalized (performance and installation view), Ellen Harvey, 2008. Acrylic on walls, one […]
THE IRREPLACEABLE CANNOT BE REPLACED (2008)
An article in the Times-Picayune invited residents of New Orleans to submit images or descriptions of irreplaceable people, objects, or places lost to Hurricane Katrina. Eleven of the submissions were chosen by lottery to be made into paintings. The texts of all thirty submissions were printed and exhibited along with the paintings. Texts that did […]
PUBLIC COLLECTION (2007)
Plexi-glas mirrors extend a photograph of a found collection of paintings for sale on the street in Poland. As the viewer walks past the corner in which the piece is installed, the viewer’s image is added to the collection. C-Print, plexi-glas mirrors, velcro: dimensions variable. Ellen Harvey, 2008.
COMMUTER CARPET (2007)
A mosaic carpet for Chicago’s Francisco “L” station. Commissioned by the Chicago Transit Authority. Commuter Carpet, Ellen Harvey, 2007. Glass and marble, 6 x 60′ (1.83 x 18.29 m). Fabrication: Mosaicos Venecianos de México, S.A. de C.V. Installation view, Francisco station, Brown Line “L,” Chicago.
INVISIBLE SELF-PORTRAITS (framed) (2007)
A series of paintings in vintage frames based on flash photographs taken in a mirror. Invisible Self-Portraits (framed) (installation view), Ellen Harvey, 2007. Oil on twelve gesso board panels with vintage frames, acrylic paint, and pencil on walls, individual dimensions unframed. Left-hand column, top to bottom: Invisible Self-Portrait (framed): At Home with Bookshelves, 7 1/2 […]
INVISIBLE SELF-PORTRAITS (oval) (2007)
A series of paintings in vintage frames based on flash photographs taken in a mirror. Oval Invisible Self-Portraits, Ellen Harvey, 2007. Oil on fourteen gesso board panels with vintage frames, various dimensions. Photography: Ellen Harvey Studio.
INVISIBLE SELF-PORTRAITS (Polaroids) (2007)
A series of paintings based on Polaroids taken with a flash in a mirror. Invisible Self-Portraits (Polaroids), Ellen Harvey, 2006. Oil on eleven wood panels and latex paint on wall, each panel: 24 x 22″ (61 x 55.9 cm). Photography: Ellen Harvey Studio.
THE CAMERA DOESN’T LIKE ITS PORTRAIT (2006)
A video camera records its image in a mirror which is being rear-engraved to create a portrait of the camera. The mirror is strongly illuminated from behind so that the engraving appears as glowing drawing superimposed over the camera’s reflection. Once the engraving is completed the mirror smashes. 12 minute video. Edition of five. Cinematography: […]
BEAUTIFUL/UGLY PALM BEACH (2006)
Senior residents of Palm Beach, Florida, were invited to submit two images each of Palm Beach – one of a beautiful thing, person or place and one of an ugly thing, person or place. Forty seniors took part in the project. The paintings were arranged in a corner, alternating with mirrors, so that all the […]
I AM A DISASTER (2006)
A series of rear-illuminated mirrors hand-engraved with ruined versions of well-known contemporary buildings. I am a Disaster, Ellen Harvey, 2006. Hand-engraved plexiglas mirrors over Lumisheets, each mirror: 32 x 24″ (81.3 x 61 cm).
BURNING ART ACADEMIES (2005)
Two videos of the drawings of the two previous buildings of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art that burst into flame once the drawing is complete. The paper burns away to reveal a mirror beneath that reflects the video camera and the roof of the artist’s studio where the videos were filmed. Cinematography: Jan Baracz. […]
BREAKING MIRROR (2005)
A video of a mirror that endlessly shatters and reconstitutes itself projected onto sanded Plexiglas. A composite of sixteen videos of mirrors being engraved from behind to create an engraving of a ruined museum entrance hall. Each individual video was made by placing the camera on a photograph facing a mirror. The camera records itself […]