Ellen Holtzblatt’s paintings are fueled by the yearning exploration of the connection between the physical and the spiritual – the memories of the body that reside in the soul. Her recent landscape paintings become an allegory for psyche and emotion, as she considers place and how one’s surroundings influence emotions. She seeks environments that seem beyond the control of humans.
Holtzblatt exhibits her work internationally and nationally, including numerous one person exhibits. Her work is included in public and private collections, including the Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection in Chicago and The Center for Book Arts in New York. Holtzblatt has been awarded artist residencies at Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, IL, Brush Creek Arts Foundation in Saratoga, WY and Baer Art Center in Hofsos, Iceland and her projects have been funded by grants from the Illinois Arts Council and City of Chicago Community Arts Assistance. Holtzblatt received degrees in visual art and art therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Ellen Holtzblatt lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
Selected One Person Exhibits
Between Earth and Sky, Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery, Moraine Valley Community College, Palos Hills,
IL, 2018
A Passing Day: Land and Light, Fermilab Art Gallery, Batavia, IL, 2018
Under the Sun: Landscape As Allegory, Harold Washington Library, Chicago, IL, 2016
From Birth to Memory, Josef Glimer Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2014
Memory and Birds, Renaissance Court Gallery, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL, 2014
Under the Wings: Birds From the Field Museum, Harold Washington Library, Chicago, IL, 2013
Paintings, A. Montgomery Ward Gallery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2012
Yizkor, Women’s History Month Exhibition, Bucktown-Wicker Park Library, Chicago, IL, 2012
Selected Group Exhibits
Intuitive Hemispheres (2 person show), Agitator Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2018
21st International Open, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2018
Nevertheless She Persisted: Women of Courage, Tenacity, and Strength, 2018 Koehnline Museum of Art, Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, IL, 2018
Jerusalem Between Heaven and Earth, Jerusalem Biennale 2017, Jerusalem, Israel, 2017
Far From the Front Lines, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL, 2017
Voices of Wisdom, Spertus Institute, Chicago, IL, 2016
The Rockford Midwestern Biennial, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL, 2016
Memory, Christopher Art Gallery, Prairie State College, Chicago Heights, IL, 2016
Women of the Book, Jerusalem Biennale 2015, The First Station, Jerusalem, Israe, 2015l
Fields of Dreams, Yeshiva University Museum, New York, NY, 2015
The Art Sprinter, One Art Space Gallery, New York, NY, 2015
Fresh Paint Biennial, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, 2015
MAAT 30th Anniversary Celebration Invitational Exhibition, SAIC, LeRoy Neiman Center, Chicago, IL, 2014
As Subject and Object: Contemporary Book Artists Explore Ancient Hebrew Texts, Museum of Biblical Art,
New York, NY, 2013
Within: 9th Annual National Self Portrait Exhibition, 33 Contemporary Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2013
15th International Open, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2012
Multiple, Limited, Unique: Highlights from the Permanent Collection of the Center for Book Arts, New
York, NY (traveled to Savannah College of Arts and Design, Minnesota Center for Book Arts,
Museum of Printing History, Lafayette College, and the Book Club of California), 2011 - 2013
Zerstreut in Alle Welt, Inselgalerie, Berlin, Germany, 2011
