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Picture
Ellen Soffer

Biography
Ellen Soffer is the proud recipient of several solo and group exhibitions. Her art resume is highlighted with solo exhibits at venues such as the Peacock Gallery at Georgia Middle State College in Cochran, GA, the Magale Library at Centenary College in Shreveport, LA and the East Bank Gallery in Bossier City, LA among others. Her group exhibitions include the "8th Louisiana Fine Arts Showcase," at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, LA, "Working it Out" at The Painting Center in NYC, "Surface" at The Wylie and May Louise Jones Gallery at Bakersfield College in Bakersfield, CA and “Fresh Faces” at the Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas, TX.

Soffer was awarded with an artist residency at the Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, IL in 1984, 1988, and 1993. She also received the Shreveport Regional Arts Council’s Visual Arts Fellowship in 2007. Most recently, Soffer’s work was chosen for Studio Visit magazine and she spoke at Middle Georgia State College on her most recent body of work entitled, The Shimmer Series. Ellen Soffer obtained her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and BFA from her birthplace of Philadelphia at the Philadelphia College of Art. Soffer currently resides in Shreveport, LA where she continues her practice at a local art studio. For more information about the artist or her work visit www.EllenSoffer.com

Artist Statement
Earlier paintings are usually the basis of inspiration for new work.

A painting begins with drawing shapes and lines on the canvas. These compositional elements are abstract and I work on them intuitively. Later, stepping back, I may sense figurative or associative elements in the painting. It is important that these elements be universal forms- something that isn’t too literal but might be understood by or at least create intrigue for anyone anywhere. On another level, there is the uncertain space created by the overlapping forms. The space may seem to be inside or outside: exposed or concealed. This ambiguity is critical. The use of small marks to create pattern and intensity of color is an important aspect of many of the paintings.

Interpretation is left to the individual viewer. My intention is that the paintings evoke feelings left behind by a dream, an emotion, or a memory without being limited to the specific details of the event itself.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2015 Ellen Soffer: The Other Side of Yellow, Magale Library Gallery,
2014 Ellen Soffer: The Shimmer Series, Peacock Gallery, Middle Georgia State College,
2012 Ellen Soffer: Eccentric Color, Magale Library, Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, LA
2011 Ellen Soffer: Busy Season, East Bank Gallery, Bossier Arts Council, Bossier City, LA
2008 Inside/Outside, Karpeles Manuscript Museum, Shreveport, LA
2007 Milam Street Series/ New Works on Paper, Prima Tazza, Shreveport, LA
2007 Candy Mountain and Other New Works, Artspace, Shreveport, LA
2006 Works on Paper, Prima Tazza, Shreveport, LA
2005 Ellen Soffer: Paintings, Broadmoor Library, Shreveport, LA
1998 Ellen Soffer: Paintings, Magale Library, Centenary College, Shreveport, LA
1993 Ellen Soffer: Louisiana Paintings, Nexus/Foundation For Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA
1990 Ellen Soffer: Paintings, Bradley Gallery, Lakeland College, Sheboygan, WI
1990 Ellen Soffer: Paintings, Anne Dean Turk Fine Arts Center, Kilgore College, Kilgore, TX
1989 Ellen Soffer: Paintings, Noel Memorial Library, LA State University at Shreveport, LA
1989 Paintings: Ellen Soffer, Turner Arts Center, Centenary College, Shreveport, LA
1988 Ellen Soffer: Recent Works on Paper, Stoner Arts Center, Shreveport, LA
1987, 85 Ellen Soffer: Paintings, Nexus/Foundation For Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA

Selected Group Exhibitions

2015 Ellen Soffer: Works on Paper, The Agora Borealis, Shreveport, LA
          Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, LA
          Cochran, GA Curated by Charlie Agnew
2014 Something Old, Something New, Something Funky, Something Blue,
          Curated by Katy Larsen (upcoming)
          The 9th Annual Louisiana Fine Arts Showcase, Southeastern Louisiana University,
          Hammond, LA Curated by Dale Newkirk Catalog (upcoming)
          Longview Museum of Fine Arts East Texas Regional Artists Exhibit,
          Longview, TX Curated by Renee Hawkins (upcoming)
          Flying Colours, Artport, Shreveport Regional Airport, Shreveport, LA
          Critical Mass 3, artspace, Shreveport, LA
          2014 Membership Exhibition, The McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
          9th Annual Texas Artist Coalition Juried Membership Exhibit, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, TX Juried by Judy Tedford Deaton
          27th September Competition, Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA Juried by James Michalopoulos Catalog
          2014 Benefit for BalletX, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
          Invitational Benefit Exhibit
          Colorfields, Liz London’s Art Gallery, Dallas, TX (Two person exhibition, Ellen Soffer and Bereniche Aguiar)
          2014 The 8th Annual Louisiana Fine Art Showcase, Southeastern Louisiana University,
2013 Triplets, The Small Gallery, Dallas, TX Curated by Rita Barnard
          Invitational Benefit Exhibit
2012 Bona Fide 2!, Artspace, Shreveport, LA
          Alumni Show (UArts), Chabad Center for the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2011 Meltdown! 2011 Membership Exhibit, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
          Hammond, LA Curated by Dale Newkirk Catalog
          The Kugel Collaborative's 3rd Annual Alumni Exhibition, Kugel Collaborative Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
          Art Exhibition II, Norsworthy Fine Art Gallery, Shreveport, LA
          Critical Mass 2, artspace, Shreveport, LA
          29th Annual International Exhibition, The Meadows Gallery,
          The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX Juried by Dean Daderko
          Working It Out, The Painting Center, New York, NY, Catalog Curated by Mona Brody, Alyce Gottesman, and Jo Ann Rothchild
          BalletX Benefit Exhibit, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
          Picturing Prose and Poetry, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
          Delta, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
          Exotica, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA Juried by Ellen Owens
          8th Annual Texas Artist Coalition Juried Membership Exhibit, Fort Worth, TX Juried by Kenneth Craighead
          Critical Mass, Artspace, Shreveport, LA
          Yuletide Treasures, Da Vinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
          7th Annual Texas Artist Coalition Juried Membership Exhibit, Fort Worth Community Art Center, Fort Worth, TX Juried by Sue Norwood-Flynn
          25th September Competition, Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA Juried by Linda Stein, Catalog
          Artport- Paired, Shreveport Regional Airport, Shreveport, LA, Catalog Soffer and Viviano, Agudath Achim, Shreveport, LA
          Summer in the City, DaVinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
          Trans-, 2012 Membership Exhibit, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
          Refresh, P’s Gallery, Longview, TX
          Surface, The Wylie and May Louise Jones Gallery, Bakersfield College,
          Bakersfield, CA (Group show of three artists: Ellen Soffer, Brett Anderson and Dennis Sopczynski) Curated by Margaret Nowling
          Going with the Flow, P’s Gallery, Longview, TX
          Impromptu, Artspace, Shreveport, LA
2010 Border, 2010 Membership Show, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
2009 Landscape, 500X Gallery, Dallas, TX
          Bubble Rap #3, Artspace, Shreveport, LA Curated by Michael G. Moore
          47th Annual Juried Exhibition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA Juried by David Houston
          Fresh Faces 2 X 2, Bath House Cultural Center, Dallas, TX Curated by Rita Barnard
          Second Northwest LA Artists’ Triennial Competition, Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College, Shreveport, LA Juried by Luz-Maria Lopez, David                     Holcombe and Nicole Holcombe
          52nd Annual Delta Exhibition, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR Juried by Martha Tedeschi
          Bona Fide, Artspace, Shreveport, LA
          Point of View (five artists), Cerulean Gallery, Dallas, TX
          Southern Open, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, LA Juried by Eleanor Heartney
2008 The Money Show, Artspace, Shreveport, LA
2007 Artport- UP, Shreveport Regional Airport, Shreveport, LA
          Texas Artists Coalition Juried Membership Show, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, TX Juried by Ed and Linda Blackburn, Honorable                         Mention
          War & Peace: Membership Show, The McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
          West Edge Artists’ Co-op Show, East Bank Gallery, Bossier Arts Center, Bossier City, LA
2007, 06, 05 Deck the Halls, Artspace, Shreveport, LA
2006 Meadows Museum Northwest LA Artists’ Triennial Competition, Meadows
2002 Traditions and Interpretations: Perspectives of 7 Jewish Artists, East Bank Gallery, Museum of Art, Shreveport, LA Juried by Meg Harders and Connie                     Bostic Bossier Arts Council, Bossier City, LA
          Artport 2(Squared), Shreveport Regional Airport, Shreveport, LA Curated by Laura Noland-Harter and Lewis Kalmbach, Catalog
1997 Nexus is 21, Coming of Age, Nexus/Foundation For Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA
1994 20” x 20 x 20”: A Compact Competition, LA State University Art Gallery,
1993 Downtown Art Banners, Shreveport Regional Arts Council, Shreveport, LA
1992 Concurrent Conversations, Taylor’s Contemporanea Fine Arts, Hot Springs
1991 Local Pigment, Magale Library Gallery, Shreveport, LA
1990 Nexus at Amos Eno, Amos Eno Gallery, New York City, NY
1990 Interstate 49: The Exhibition, Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA LA State University, Baton Rouge, LA Juried by Melody Guichet, Greg Elliott, and                 Judi Stahl Artport: Shooting for the Stars, Shreveport Regional Airport, Shreveport, LA Curated by Lewis Kalmbach, Catalog National Park, AR                              AT-THE-LOFT, Shreveport, LA At-the-Loft, East Bank Gallery, Bossier Art Council, Bossier City, LA
          Artport, “I Need a Vacation”, Shreveport Regional Airport, Shreveport, LA
          Black/White: A Joint Venture in the Arts, Southern University, Shreveport, LA
          Twenty-first Prints, Drawings and Photographs Exhibition, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR Juried by Sue Taylor
          Louisiana Competition 1991, LA Arts and Science Center, Riverside Museum, Baton Rouge, LA Juried by John Yau, Catalog
          Louisiana Used Again: Artists Salvaging Our State, Magale Library, Centenary College, Shreveport, LA
          Gallery Artists, Nexus/Foundation For Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA
          Women Artists, Magale Library Gallery, Centenary College, Shreveport, LA Curated by Stephanie Hall
          Black/White: A Joint Venture in the Arts, Southern University, Shreveport, LA
          We Don’t Do Windows, 524 Texas Street, Shreveport, LA
          Invitational March 1990 Exhibit, AT-THE-LOFT, Shreveport, LA
          Contemporary Arts Review Summer Showing, Boots Pharmaceuticals, Shreveport, LA Curated by Randy Hedgcock, Catalog Curated by Caroline Kennedy             Stone and Steve Bradley
          Shrines and Rituals, Stoner Arts Center, Shreveport, LA Curated by Linda Snider
          Birthday Presence: Nexus Turns 15, Borowsky Gallery, Gershman
          Y.M. & Y.W.H.A., Philadelphia, PA
          Season Opening Group Show, Hall/Barnett Gallery, New Orleans
          Contemporary Arts Review 1990 Fall Showing, Boots Pharmaceuticals, Shreveport, LA Curated by Randy Hedgcock, Catalog
1990 Nexus Steps Over Jesse Helms into the ‘90’s, Nexus/Foundation For Today’s Art,
1989 Exhibitionism, Nexus/Foundation For Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA
          Invitational September 1989 Exhibit, AT-THE-LOFT, Shreveport, LA
          Artists Aids Response, All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, Shreveport, LA
1988 60th Annual Juried Exhibition1988, Art Association of Harrisburg, Harrisburg, PA
1987 PA/VA Exchange: Connections & Contrasts, 1708 East Main, Richmond, VA
1986 Philadelphia Artists, Pleiades Gallery, NYC, NY Philadelphia, PA
          Resident Artists, AT-THE-LOFT, Shreveport, LA
          ARTPORT, Shreveport Municipal Airport, Shreveport, LA
          Toys, Ornaments, and Other Precious Objects, Nexus/Foundation For Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA
          Island Introductions, Galveston Art Center, Galveston, TX Juried by Betty Moody
          The Red Clay Survey, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL Juried by Dr. Harry Rand, Catalog
          Womanspirit: Myth and Metaphor, Bakehouse Art Complex, Miami, FL Juried by Dorothea Rockburne, Catalog    Black & White: A Joint Venture in the Arts,             Southern University, Shreveport, LA
          Self-Portraits, Stoner Arts Center, Shreveport, LA
          The Night Show, Nexus/Foundation For Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA
          Invitational October 1989 Exhibit, AT-THE-LOFT, Shreveport, LA
          Gallery Artists: Window Installation, Nexus/Foundation For Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA
          SPAR 1989 National Art Exhibition, Barnwell Gardens and Art Center, Shreveport, LA Juried by Lou Thomas Juried by Paolo Colombo and Victoria                             Donahue
          6th Annual Flatwork Exhibition, University of Maine, Presque Isle, Maine, Juried by Clifton Boudman
          Thirty–first Annual Delta Art Exhibition, Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR Juried by Marti Koplin
          size isn’t everything, Nexus/Foundation For Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA
          Women Artists of Three States, Dallas City Hall, Dallas, TX Juried by Judith Brodsky
          Ninth Biennial Five State Art Exhibition, Port Arthur Public Library Gallery, Port Arthur, TX Juried by Grahm Beal
          Small Works, Nexus/Foundation For Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA
          Art in City Hall-The Self-Portrait, Philadelphia City Hall, Philadelphia, PA Juried by Dean Savard
1986 Hudson Valley 86, Mid-Hudson Arts and Science Center, Poughkeepsie, NY
1985 Gallery Artists and Invited Artists, Nexus/Foundation For Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA Juried by Holly Solomon
          Tenth Annual Small Works, 80 Washington Square East Galleries,
          New York University, NYC, NY Juried by Holly Solomon
          46th Annual, Woodmere Art Museum, Pennsylvania, PA Juried by Isaiah Zagar
          Group Painting Show, Allen Lane Art Center, Philadelphia, PA Juried Alumni Painting Show
1983 After Ten Years, Rosenwald Gallery, Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1978 Fiber Show, Houston Hall, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Selected Benefits

2015 One Inspired Evening, Inspiration Corporation, Chicago, IL
2014 Art Unleashed 2014, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2014, 2013 One Inspired Evening, Inspiration Corporation, Chicago, IL
2013 Fundraiser, Firecat Projects, Chicago, IL

Awards, Public Collections, and Honors

2007 Visual Arts Fellowship Award, Shreveport Regional Arts Council, Shreveport, LA
          Honorable Mention, TX Artists Coalition Membership Show 2007, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, TX
1993 Residency, Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois
1989 Shreveport Regional Arts Council, Shreveport, LA, Third place in show, “SPAR National Art Show”
1988 Residency, Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois
          Oil and Acrylic Award, “60th Annual Juried Exhibition”
1984 Residency, Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL
1983 Teaching Assistantship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago Art Association of Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,
1982 Van De Grift Tuition Scholarship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1981 Tuition Scholarship, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME
1980 Ernest M. Greenfield Award for Excellence in Painting, Philadelphia College of Art
1979 Collection, The Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia
          Apprentice Grant, Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia

Lectures and Public Speaking Engagements

• Artist Talk, Ellen Soffer: The Shimmer Series, Peacock Gallery, Middle Georgia
• Artist Talk, Understanding Art Class, Bossier Parrish Community College, Bossier City, LA,
• Artist Talk, “Second Northwest LA Artists’ Triennial,” Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary
• Lecture, “Meadows Museum Northwest LA Artists’ Triennial,” Meadows Museum of Art,
• Panel Discussion, “Interstate 49: The Exhibition,” Alexandria Museum of Art,
• Lecture, Turner Arts Center, Centenary College, Shreveport, LA, 1990
• Interview, “Art Scene,” Cablevision, Shreveport, LA, January 1989
• Lecture, Stoner Arts Center, Shreveport, LA, 1988

Education

1983 MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
1981 BFA with Honors, Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Additional Study

1982 Ox-bow School, Saugatuck, MI
1981 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME
1975-76 Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH
1975 Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA

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  • NEWS
  • ARTISTS
  • EXHIBITIONS
    • Peggy Wauters: Recomposed
    • Cheryl Finfrock: The Ties That Bind
    • Ken Craft: Departmental Standard on Empathy Displacement and Universal Salvage
  • CONTACT
  • VIRTUAL TOURS
  • Quarantine Conversations