Josiah Ellner
Josiah Ellner is a Chicago-based artist who received his Master of Fine Arts in painting and drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Ellner was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but spent his formative years in Xi’an, China. Growing up in a city of over 8 million people with scarce green spaces and little to no wildlife, he has always felt disconnected from the natural world. Despite these feelings of alienation, he has found himself strangely drawn to nature and a yearning to reconnect with it. From his personal experiences of encountering and engaging with nature. Ellner weaves together playful narratives that capture these fleeting moments of wonder and intimate connection. Through careful abstraction, he can heighten and fully portray the whimsical, awkward, and spiritual interactions that he has with the natural world.
Collect Bean: What does growth mean to you?
Josiah Ellner: Growth for me means continuing to move forward. To continue taking the steps needed toward my goals. To never stop learning and always be curious and inquisitive of my surroundings! Although it might seem ideal for growth to happen in a linear fashion. For me, growth has often looked like taking a couple steps back or even re-routing completely. In the studio and in my personal life growth is something that I always want to be engaging in.
Collect Bean: If you had to describe your work in only three words, what would they be?
Josiah Ellner: Playful, Wonder and Nostalgia
Collect Bean: Where are you currently finding inspiration?
Josiah Ellner: Currently I am finding a lot of inspiration in old Disney cartoons that I watched as a kid. Like Sleeping Beauty, Bambi and Fantasia. I’m thinking a lot about how these animated films depict the natural world and how impactful those interpretations of nature were for me as a child.
Collect Bean; How does where you grew up influence your work?
Josiah Ellner: For my work, I draw a lot of inspiration from my childhood memories, which are inextricably tied to where I grew up.
Collect Bean: What role does color play in your practice?
Josiah Ellner: Color is used in my practice as a way to abstract as well as a way to describe and give meaning. In the studio, I usually approach color more logically. Whether that's beginning to think of local colors that describe my subjects or colors that could abstract certain subjects. But logic always gives way to intuition and intuition always gives way to pleasure. Right now, I am really interested in using color as a vehicle for pleasure.
