Elise Thompson, "Busy"

Artist Statement

My works communicate between attempted reservation and cartoonish extroversion. The painting frame is shown in varying degrees of obscured visibility through translucent and opaque layers. Through semi-symmetrical gestures of concealing and revealing, competing tendencies to hesitate or indulge reflect our desire to remain private or explicitly share. References to doorways, windows, 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 process and play. The resulting images are often quirky and eerie.

Artist Bio

Elise Thompson (b. Cincinnati, OH) received a BFA from Northern Kentucky University in 2010 and an MFA at Florida State University in 2016. She received the Andrew McLaughlin Award in '14 -’15 and the Mary Ola Reynolds Miller Scholarship in Visual Arts in '16. Thompson attended the Boom Gallery Fellowship + Residency in Cincinnati, OH, in '15 via an Exceptional Opportunities award from FSU. Additional residencies include Vermont Studio Center '16, The Wassaic Artist Residency '17, The Maple Terrace '17, DNA Artist Residency '20, and Stay Home Gallery + Residency '21. Thompson was published in New American Paintings South in '16, Friend of the Artist vol. 8 in '19, and was featured in VAST Magazine vol. 1 in '20. Past exhibitions include The Spartanburg Art Museum, The Wassaic Project, 500 X Gallery, BS Projects, and Paradice Palase. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Busy, 2019, acrylic and ink on paper, 13.25"x11", $300