Leslie Parke on Lori Ellison
I am drawn to work of modest means that has a monumental impact. The master of this kind of work was Lori Ellison, who died in August 2015
Lori Ellison, Untitled (2014-2015). Ink on notebook paper 10 7/8 by 8 1/4 inches, Courtesy of McKenzie Fine Art, New York
Ellison created her pieces on plain paper or in grade-school notebooks, sometimes leaving evidence of the punch holes on one side. She immediately invited you to compare her work to doodles, and not the doodles of a great artist, but the doodles of a student. The genius in her work occurred on many levels, not the least of which was in not succumbing to any doodling clichés.
Leslie Parke, Almond Tree Evening (2015), oil on canvas. 66 by 96 inches
Ellison’s rigorous simplicity is what I admire most. I love how her work engages me in the process. The drawings almost beg you to try to imitate them. And perhaps it is precisely in this process of putting pen to paper that you begin to feel her decision making, her clear and precise choices — how the image sits on the page, how it relates to the edge, how it interacts with the lines on the page.
These drawings have an impact that is emotionally complex and visually exciting.
Leslie Parke lives and works in upstate New York and is the recipient many grants and awards. She has been an artist- in-residence at the Claude Monet Foundation in Giverny, France, and has exhibited work at the Williams College Museum of Art, the Museum of the Southwest, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Museo de Arte Moderno in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A memorial show of Lori Ellison’s work will open at McKenzie Fine Art in New York on December 11 and run through January 31, 2016.
Parke says of Ellison’s work, “These drawings have an impact that is emotionally complex and visually exciting.” I could say the same about the work of a State of Texas prisoner – whose name I don’t recall – but whose work I have seen. The work was eagerly collected by those ‘in the know!’ A psychiatric prisoner, the artist was consumed with the desire to fill the entire sheet of paper with images conjured up from the depths of his ‘other world’. He was only allowed to use Crayolas. What a complex vision he created….the entire page covered in illustrative stories….glossy with wax, heavy with recognizable imagery of our own psyche.
I hope, ‘Wow’ is comment enough.
Great article, Leslie! I appreciate how you brought us right into Ellison’s creative process, encouraging us to contemplate “how the image sits on the page, how it relates to the edge, how it interacts with the lines on the page,” so we could see what you see in her work.
The juxtaposition of your own work next to hers clearly shows why you are attracted to her work, which brings another level of appreciation to both works.
Bravo to Ann Landi for creating what will be a fascinating series on Artists Choose Artists.
Beautiful work!
This is an excellent homage by Leslie Parke.
Just saw Lori’s show up at McKenzie Fine Art. Do not miss it if you are on the LES before the end of January.
Wish I could have seen Lori’s show! I have loved her work for a long time.
Wonderful tribute to Lori Ellison. I was first drawn to her work about ten years ago when I noticed how, using simple means — ballpoint on paper — she was able to convey the extreme intensity and obsessiveness of her ideas. If you look closely (which you must) her lines almost push through to the other side, and echo as traces on the back of the paper, as a result of her intense pressure and focus. The drawings are not flat, but bulge with thought and purpose. She is greatly missed by so many, but she left a legacy of amazing work.
Very intense work. Certainly would love to see that big canvas, the almond tree painting ! m. oliver