Ellen Frances

Ellen Frances is a multidisciplinary artist based in New York City. Her practice merges painting, writing, and performance — with inspiration rooted in extensive historical research and classical sensuality. Her presentations titled “Poetry of Gesture” have appeared in The Brooklyn Rail, Art Observed and the New York Times.

In the summer of 2023, she was invited by the Yeats Society in Gort, Ireland, to be the first-ever artist in residence at Thoor Ballylee; the 15th c. Normandy Tower home of Nobel Prize-winning poet and playwright W.B. Yeats. There she wrote poetry, painted and performed excerpts from The Tower. Ellen has collaborated with award-winning author Frederic Tuten on written monologues and performed her deconstructed reimagining of Shakespeare works at downtown NY gallery; The Hole.

Her paintings have shown with Tönnheim Gallery (Spain), at Volta International Art Fair and at Mana Contemporary (US), receiving favorable reviews in WideWall, Cultbytes, and WhiteHot Art Magazines. Her solo show of paintings and performance opens at the Java Project Gallery NY and Tonnehiem Gallery in Spain in 2024.

Ellen is also a contributor to the London-based arts publication The Art Newspaper and The Brooklyn Rail.