Emily Elliott
After The Disco
High Low Gallery
May 19 – July 8, 2023
Opening Reception May 19, 5- 8pm
Artist Talk May 20, 6pm
*Walk-In Gallery Hours at High Low are every day, from 8am – 3pm. Private gallery visits can be made for all galleries by appointment. To make an appointment, and for questions or concerns, please contact wryn@kranzbergarts.org or (314) 533-0367 ext. 105
ARTIST STATEMENT
This exhibition explores two of the most powerful words in the English language when combined: What If? These words, in every iteration, plagued KAF Artist in Residence Emily Elliott for years, and still make their appearances in times of stress. Once viewed only for their negative, anxiety-inducing effects, these words have now become affirmations of the infinite possibilities of joy, success, and self-love. This practice of putting intrusive thoughts on trial has become integral to her journey toward mental well-being. This immersive installation is meant to capture the experience of an anxious brain stuck in a thought loop, and the active and often imperfect practice of challenging the unreliable narrator that is Emily’s brain.
According to the World Health Organization, during the first year of the pandemic the prevalence of anxiety and depression increased 25% worldwide. Collectively, we experienced trauma, anxiety, and loss on a global scale. My objectives for the installation are three-fold: to allow us collectively to accept ourselves as we are in the present moment, to offer strategies for living with difficulties through humor and grace, and to introduce tools which can help us heal through daily practice.
ARTIST BIO
Emily Elliott is a multidisciplinary artist, educator and fabricator from Columbus, Georgia. She received her Bachelors in Fine Art in 2011 from Columbus State and received her Master’s in Fine Art from the University of South Florida in 2014. She has worked as a studio assistant and fabricator for several artists in LIC, NY. It was there that she fell in love with the multi layered process of mold making, which she utilizes in her personal studio practice, as well as through mold making courses and workshops. From 2017-2022 Elliott was living and working in Saint Louis, MO. She has taught at multiple institutions in the greater Saint Louis region She currently lives and works in north western Pennsylvania teaching sculpture and 3-d design as an Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, PA.
Elliott has exhibited regionally and nationally. Selected exhibitions include: the 28th Cedarhurst Biennial Exhibit at the Cedarhurst Center for The Arts, the 59th Mid-States Art Exhibition at the Evansville Museum in Evansville, IN., Manifestations at the AAHD Gallery at Notre Dame University, and Objectively Speaking at the Cecille R. Hunt Gallery at Webster University.
Upon moving to Pennsylvania in 2022 she became a member of the Society of Sculptors Pittsburgh, PA. and has been included in exhibitions at the Martha Gault Art Gallery at Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA., the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh LAMP/ Library of Accessible Media for Pennsylvanians, Pittsburgh, PA, and The Bridgeville Public Library, Bridgeville, PA. Emily Elliott was an Artist In residence at the Kranzberg Arts Foundation in Saint Louis, MO. and will be exhibiting her solo exhibition After The Disco in May 2023.
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