Elise Thompson
In Elise Thompson's work, sheer, layered surfaces call on the intricacies of transparency, both physical and figurative. Areas of these wall-bound works showing restraint emphasize the frame and details, but through varying degrees of obscured visibility with translucent materials. Many attributes can be withheld or disguised through censored effects or outright obstruction when deciphering what is beneath. Segmented architectural arches, fields, and nets seen below, between, and above allude to a desire for control. Also present are perceived or physical voids, which mirror cartoonish mouths or moments of vulnerability. Alongside structural planes and organic passages, the gaps become part of the image while also disrupting and diffusing. References to entrances and exits hint at places to traverse or be barred from physically or psychologically. Clear or muted communication and the history of past moves are explored through abstraction, filtered via a broad investigation of disclosure. Through semi-symmetrical gestures of concealing and revealing, these competing tendencies reflect the desire to remain private or explicitly share. The resulting images are often quirky, vaguely referential, and even eerie.
Thompson received a BFA from Northern Kentucky University in 2010 and an MFA at Florida State University in 2016. She attended the Boom Gallery Fellowship …
In Elise Thompson's work, sheer, layered surfaces call on the intricacies of transparency, both physical and figurative. Areas of these wall-bound works showing restraint emphasize the frame and details, but through varying degrees of obscured visibility with translucent materials. Many attributes can be withheld or disguised through censored effects or outright obstruction when deciphering what is beneath. Segmented architectural arches, fields, and nets seen below, between, and above allude to a desire for control. Also present are perceived or physical voids, which mirror cartoonish mouths or moments of vulnerability. Alongside structural planes and organic passages, the gaps become part of the image while also disrupting and diffusing. References to entrances and exits hint at places to traverse or be barred from physically or psychologically. Clear or muted communication and the history of past moves are explored through abstraction, filtered via a broad investigation of disclosure. Through semi-symmetrical gestures of concealing and revealing, these competing tendencies reflect the desire to remain private or explicitly share. The resulting images are often quirky, vaguely referential, and even eerie.
Thompson received a BFA from Northern Kentucky University in 2010 and an MFA at Florida State University in 2016. She attended the Boom Gallery Fellowship + Residency inCincinnati, OH, in 2015 via an FSU Exceptional Opportunities award and received the Mary Ola Reynolds Miller Scholarship in Visual Arts in 2016. Additional residencies include Vermont Studio Center, The Wassaic Artist Residency, The Maple Terrace Artist Residency Program, DNA Artist Residency, Stay Home Gallery + Residency, and ChaNorth Artist Residency. Thompson has been published in New American Paintings South, Friend of the Artist, VAST Magazine, and Maake Magazine. Recent exhibitions include The Spartanburg Art Museum (SC), The Wassaic Project (NY), 500x (TX), Paradice Palase (NYC), Laundromat Art Space (FL), Westobou Gallery (GA), and Soft Times Gallery (CA). She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
