Bio
Ellen Ramsey (b. 1960, USA) weaves tapestries that explore the themes of connection, consumption, and materiality as it relates to technology. She earned an MA in Art History, with a studio concentration in photography, from the University of Iowa. Ramsey shows her work widely in national and international exhibitions. She has shown in exhibitions at the Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA; Ceres Gallery, New York, NY; Morley Gallery, London, UK; Szombathely Gallery, Szombathely, Hungary; the Silvermine Gallery, New Cannan, CT; and The Vestibule, Seattle, WA; among others. Ramsey has been recognized for excellence in her field with notable awards, including the 2019 Heallreaf Prize (UK). Ramsey is a juried member of Northwest Designer Craft Artists. She lives and works in Seattle, Washington.
Statement
I weave tapestries that explore ideas of transformation, be they metaphorical, personal, or societal. My current body of work foregrounds the hidden infrastructure of microelectronics, the power of Big Tech, and my ambivalence toward rapid technological change. My geometric weavings combine the characteristic lines and shapes found on circuit board assemblies with text, digital art aesthetics, and traditional textile forms. The work begins with a design I create using drawing, Photoshop, and generative software. I weave an interpretation of the design on a loom using a wide range of materials, capitalizing on the binary system of the grid to interpret the digital original. This work sits where the analog confronts the digital, where textile practice serves as a bridge between our technological obsessions and the human desire for warmth and materiality in our surroundings.
About Tapestry Weaving
My fascination with time and metamorphosis is an outgrowth of the medium I work in. Tapestry weavings grow into works of art very slowly in a defined progression. The work starts out as a spare scaffolding of vertical warp threads secured between two beams, and little by little the imagery is developed as weft passes through the warps, one area at a time, from bottom to top. The work builds over time from literally nothing into a dense cloth that is laden with meaning. Because the work rolls around a beam, I can only see a small portion of the whole as I work. Thus, the process of cutting a large piece off the loom reveals the entirety of the tapestry for the first time, which is always an immensely satisfying experience.
