ELENA ZOLOTNITSKY
TEL: 415.441.8680
ARTIST WORKS
Girl In The Yellow Turban (Study), 2009, oil on paper, 13.5” x 14.5”
Balenciaga, 2012, oil on canvas, 20” x 20”
Milk Bottle Valentines, 2009,
oil on paper, 21” x 17”
Red Couch, 2009,
oil on canvas, 20” x 20”
White Rose, 2011,
oil on paper, 12” x 14”
Brown Eyed Girl, 2011,
oil on canvas, 14” x 11”
Contents Copyright © 2003-2012
STATEMENT
'Beauty always offers its own form of seduction' — Elizabeth George
Beauty is my inspiration. Over the past few years my art has become increasingly personal and intimate, focusing more on the raw physicality of painting. My favorite medium is oil paint, either on canvas, board or on heavy paper. I use a lot of gold leaf. It increases my spectrum of flatness and brings in more drama in shape. As I build layer upon layer of contrasting hues and textures, I am driven more by my pursuit of the formal concerns of painting instead of by my desire to relate a narrative. Yet I remain always a figurative artist, one who feels a special affinity for the craft, subtlety, and peace of Flemish art and the art of Balthus.
My goal is to create paintings that are both well-crafted and probe deeply into the mystery of the medium itself, widening the spectrum of that which is portrayed. Painting for me is the magic act, when the combination of oil paint, a bit of imagination and a lot of heart create something alive that other people can relate to on emotional level. And that is what art does, I think - it transforms energy of labor into feelings.
BORN: 1961, Moscow, Russia
EDUCATION
1986 MFA from the Moscow Cinema Academy
AWARDS, GRANTS, RESIDENCIES
2008 Visual Aid’s Jerome Caja Terrible Beauty Award, San Francisco, CA
2007 Award of Excellence, Cash Prize at Northern National Art
Competition, Nicolett College, WI
Best in the Show, Cash Prize at Loyola National Works on Paper, Chicago, IL
2005 Award of Excellence: 48th Communication Arts Annual Illustration Exhibition, CA
Full Fellowship from Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, Taos, New Mexico
Best in the Show “Dimensions 2005”, 40th National Exhibition, Winston-Salem, NC
2004 Award of Excellence: SDAI 46th International Exhibition, San Diego, CA
2003 Full Fellowship from Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont
1997 Grant from the Paul Beckett Foundation, Denmark / Spain
1993 Gold Medal: Mid-Atlantic Watercolor Exhibition, Baltimore, MD
1992 Merit Award: 36th Annual Illustration Exhibition, Society of Illustrators, NY
1991 Merit Award: 27th Annual Illustration Exhibition, Society of Publication Design, NY
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2012 “Introductions 2012” (Juried Exhibition), ArtZone 461 Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011 “Introductions” Group Show at Pryor Fine Art, Atlanta GA
“Zolotnitsky@Bucci’s” Emeryville, CA
“Holiday Show” Paul Mahder Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2010 “Cimmerian Muse: Exploring The Gestures Of The Mind”, Nieto Fine Art, San Francisco CA
“The Figure Now”, Fontbonne University Fine Arts Gallery, St.Louis, MO
Juried by Sofie Jodoin, Alex Kanevsky and Nicholas Uribe.
2009 Paul Mahder Gallery: “Basic”, San Francisco, CA
2008 Two Artists Show, Paule Anglim Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007 Loyola National Works on Paper, Crown Center Gallery Loyola University of Chicago
Northern National Art Competition, juried by Allan Peterson, Nicolett College, WI
Micaela Gallery: “Salon d’Ete 2007”, San Francisco, CA
Rotunda Gallery, USF School of Law, curated by Saiko Matsumaru. San Francisco, CA
Paul Mahder Gallery, San Francisco, CA
FranklinBowles Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2006 Franklin Bowles Gallery, San Francisco, CA
B. Boeltz Gallery, Denver, CO
SFMOMA Artists Gallery: “Finding the Figure”, San Francisco, CA
2005 Micaela Gallery: “Salon d’Ete 2005”, San Francisco, CA
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts: Visual Aid at 16, San Francisco, CA
San Diego Art Institute: 48th International Exhibition, juried by Derrick C. Cartwright,
Director of the San Diego Museum of Art
Barbara Anderson Gallery: “Closer”, Berkeley, CA
2004 Blue Room Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Barbara Anderson Gallery: “Works on Paper”, Berkeley, CA
ARTWALK at the Embarcadero Center, curated by ArtSpan, San Francisco, CA
2003 Catharine Clark Gallery: SPICE Visual Aid Artists, San Francisco, CA
San Diego Art Institute: 46th International Exhibition, San Diego, CA
2002 Vorpal Gallery: “Beaux & Eros”, San Francisco, CA
2001 SFMOMA Artists Gallery 4 Artist Show, San Francisco, CA
Vorpal Gallery: “The Year 2001- Art Odyssey”, San Francisco, CA
1999 Museum of American Illustration: SPD Gala Annual, New York, NY
Art Expo: Finalists of the Art Calendar Magazine’s Competition, New York, NY
James E. Lewis Museum of Art, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
Sloane Gallery, Denver, CO
1997 Springfield Art Museum: Watercolor USA Honor Society, 6th Biennial Exhibition
“Maryland Artists” Government House, Annapolis, MD
Lancaster Museum of Art: “Creating Women”, Lancaster, PA
Russian Embassy, Washington D.C. curated by Diane Beal
Hodson Gallery: “Made in the USA”, Hood College, Frederick, MD
1995 Regional Mid-Atlantic Watercolor Exhibition, Baltimore, MD
1994 Zenith Gallery, Washington D.C.L.
1993 New York City Public Library: SPD Gala Annual, New York, NY
Galerie Francoise, Green Spring, MD
1992 Zimmerly Art Museum: Norton Dodge’s Collection of Soviet Art, Rutgers University, NJ
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2009 Etnosfera Magazine: “Elena Zolotnitsky: Creativity - Is a Personal Affair”.
Interview with Yulia Goryacheva. Issue #11 (134) Moscow, Russia
2008 7x7 San Francisco Magazine: “Watch This Space” by Christine Ryan. November Issue p.120
2005 46th Annual Communication Arts, p.107
2003 Baltimore Magazine: “A Selection of Contemporary Russian Artwork” by John Lewis, February Issue pp. 122-123
2000 NY Times Book Review Cover: “Thus Spake Beowulf” February 27th
1997 Intelligencer Journal “Happenings”, March Issue: “Bold or Fractured, Images From Women’s Selves” by Jennifer Knopf.
Cover Story on “Creating Women”, Lancaster Museum of Art, PA
1996 Frederick Gazette: “Six Very Good Reasons To See ‘Made in the USA’” by Richard Lebhers on the Exhibition
of Selected Former Russian Artists
1995 The Artist’s Magazine: “Rising Watercolor Stars” by Bebe Raupe, October Issue pp. 60-65. An Art Review featuring
the top winners from 10 of North America’s most prominent Watercolor Societies
1993 The Baltimore Sun March 11: “Zolotnitskys Blend Humor and Grimness, Go Figure” by John Dorsey. Art Review on
the two-person exhibition at Galerie Francoise, Baltimore, MD
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Norton Dodge Collection of Soviet Art at Zimmerly Art Museum, Rutgers University, NJ
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