Download pdf version

Jonathan Ellery
b. 1964, England

 

Jonathan Ellery’s clarity of thought and the concise arrangement of his ideas resonate through all areas of his art practice. He playfully works across a wide range of media from sculpture to performance, film to photography. The medium of book art is also central to his work, molding paper, fonts and images as he would any other medium, to create tactile, hand numbered, objects of art. The foundation for Ellery’s conceptual approach is the commonplace concerns of life, that of memories, his childhood, his relationship with women, his family, which on first glance appear disguised in a seemingly surreal, minimalist aesthetic.

The concept of his work is constant while the materials come and go, from traditional Portland stone and machined brass to digital technology and sound. The notion of sequence and of a gentle, unfolding narrative is at the core of his art, enforcing a distinctive Ellery language that offers each work as one part of a continuous and burgeoning series, strengthened by its succession. The deceptive simplicity of the work is informed by Ellery's awareness of the absurd, a delight in constructing certain orders and exploring the tensions between them; a crumpled beer mat next to a wooden sign painted by his father, a blossom next to a pin, a live drummer next to a girl undressing. These frictional couplings are used as tools to address the questions of daily life, forcing the viewer to build an imaginative construction of meaning.

Jonathan Ellery lives above his studio in London. His latest book, Ellery’s Theory of Neo-conservative Creationism, was published this May as the fifth in his series of solo titles. An exhibition of the same name will take place this November at The Wapping Project. Ellery has had notable solo exhibitions in New York and in London, has contributed to many group shows worldwide and has received numerous private commissions.

www.jonathanellery.com

Solo Exhibitions:
2009
  • Ellery's Theory of Neo-conservative Creationism
  • Wapping Project, London
2008
  • Constance
  • Wapping Project, London
2007
  • Unrest
  • Wapping Project, London
2005
  • 136 Points of Reference
  • Roth Gallery, New York
Group Exhibitions:
2009
  • Creatures, Londonewcastle Project Space, London
2008
  • Designs of the Year,
  • Design Museum, London
2007
  • Two Faced, Agnés B Libraire Gallery, Hong Kong
  • Art/Clic, Bankside Gallery, London
2006
  • British Social Posters. Past, Present and Future, British Council, Moscow
  • Felt-Tip, SEA Gallery, London
  • Urban Forest Project, Times Square, New York
  • My London/My City, ISTD, London
2005
  • Stuck On Me, Notting Hill Arts Club, London
  • European Design Show Biennial, Design Museum, London
  • Handmade, Museum of Design, Zurich
2004
  • Ballpoint, Pentagram Gallery, London
  • Public Address System, Henry Peacock Gallery, London
Solo publications:
2009
  • Ellery's Theory of Neo-conservative Creationism
  • Exhibition Catalogue
  • Jonathan Ellery
  • Published by Browns Editions

  • Ellery's Theory of Neo-conservative Creationism
  • Jonathan Ellery
  • Published by Browns Editions
2008
  • Constance
  • Jonathan Ellery
  • Published by Browns Editions
2007
  • Works in Brass
  • Jonathan Ellery
  • Published by Browns Editions

  • In and Out
  • Jonathan Ellery
  • Published by Browns Editions
2006
  • 87 Ellery
  • Jonathan Ellery
  • Published by Browns Editions
2005
  • 136 Points of Reference
  • Jonathan Ellery
  • Published by Browns Editions