Pretender 

11 x 11 inches, unframed

Acrylic ink on Yupo

2023

Artist: Elsie Kagan

Instagram: @elsiekaganstudio

Courtesy of the artist:

Elsie Kagan is a New York City-based painter, originally from Berkeley, CA. Her work draws together divergent languages into conversation with a material-based approach to abstraction, creating visually dense and exuberant paintings. She will be mounting a solo exhibition at the Shirley Project Space in Brooklyn, NY in May 2024. She also recently had solo exhibitions in Mexico City, Brooklyn NY, and Hartford, CT. Kagan has been a resident at R.A.R.O Madrid, Vermont Studio Center, Residency Unlimited in NYC, and the Chautauqua Art Institute. The recipient of several awards and grants, Kagan most recently received a fellowship and grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and from the Sustainable Arts Foundation. Kagan holds an MFA from the Tyler School of Art and a BA from Wesleyan University.

Identifying a real lack in accessibility and opportunity for artists who are raising children, Kagan founded and launched Interlude Artist Residency in 2019. A non-profit Residency program in Upstate New York, Interlude is unique in serving the needs of artist parents. Kagan is Executive Director for the program, which offers supportive and fully funded 3-week sessions for approximately 22 artists per year.