Art at The Hive  /  Carly Ellefsen

Art at The Hive / Carly Ellefsen

Carly Ellefsen’s new paintings explore intuition and time at The Hive Salon in Northeast Minneapolis.

St. Paul-based painter Carly Ellefsen wants us all to slow down a little bit. “In the same way that successful advertising uses design to affirm and persuade their content and visually persuade an audience to spend money,” she says, “I am attempting to visually persuade an audience to spend time.” And if you’re spending serious time with good art, you might as well get your hair did at the same time, right?

 

Opening this weekend, Ellefsen will be exhibiting a series of oil paintings and mixed media works at The Hive in Northeast Minneapolis. Her abstract paintings zoom in on organic, floral shapes with thick daubs of paint and a bright, energetic color palette.

 

 

Drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources, Ellefsen’s paintings call to mind everything from the loose geometry of mid-20th century expressionist Paul Klee to the tight, repetitive hatch-marks popular in contemporary illustration. Ranging in size from five feet down to five inches, her paintings are intuitive exercises in painterly brushwork, repetitive markmaking, and striking colors. “It is interesting how the size effects the outcome and the experience of the viewer,” she says. “The smaller the work, the much more intimate [it is].”

 

Ellefsen recently relocated to the Twin Cities from Decorah, Iowa, where she has shown work at both her alma mater, Luther College, and Art Haus. She has shown locally in the Twin Cities with Salon Ori, Altered Esthetics, and Good Arts Collective. She is also a designer at Design Center, Inc. in St. Paul.

 

 

The Hive is an eco-friendly salon, offering services to a diverse clientele in the arts district of Northeast Minneapolis. Newly relocated to Hennepin Avenue, The Hive now boasts 18 foot ceilings flooded with natural light to showcase the work of not only their team of stylists but also local artists, makers, and artisans, from the locally-made furniture to the handcrafted retail lines. Master Stylist Becca Herron says “it was a no-brainer for us to support local artists by offering up our walls… Carly’s use of color and texture in her work inspires us and our clients, too.”

 

 

Join the artist for the opening reception on Saturday, June 23rd from 6-9pm.  RSVP on Facebook
 

All images courtesy of the artist. See more of her work at carlymellefsen.com


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