Elise Ferguson American, b. 1964

Elise Ferguson's work centralizes the art of pattern to create graphic and dynamic compositional spaces. Using rhythmic motifs rendered through layers of screen-printed, pigmented plaster, she blurs the boundary between mechanical reproduction and artistic precision. Bold, carefully paired colors bring her work to life, while closer inspection of the textured surfaces gives her works a handmade, object-like body. At the crossroads of painting, sculpture, and printmaking, Ferguson's abstract creations celebrate purposeful imperfection. Her mark-making gestures evoke mathematical puzzles, alphabetic scripts, and geometric variations, interweaved with influences from clothing patterns, architectural embellishments, musical notations, and hieroglyphic writing. This results in artworks that evoke a tension between structured systems and disarray, balancing on the edge of refinement and spontaneity. Through a process-driven approach, Ferguson explores spatial dynamics and the malleable nature of optical perception.

Elise Ferguson (b. 1964 Richmond, Virginia) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York City. She holds a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1988) and an MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago (1995). She has exhibited extensively in the United States and Europe, including solo exhibitions with Halsey McKay Gallery, Romer Young Gallery, ODD ARK-LA, White Columns, and 57W57 Arts. Her work is in the public collections of Progressive Art Collection, The Cleveland Clinic, Microsoft, Google, the RISD Museum, and SUNY Albany Museum, among others, as well as in many private collections.