Ellen Van Fleet
artist's statement

For over 30 I have been a visual artist following the threads of ideas through corridors opening and closing in the folds of my brain. I am stimulated by what catches my attention and what stimulates me I do; visually anyway. It has all been quite simple. There has been no other activity I do that has the snorty cavorting horse feeling that an unfolding work of art has. Art is using all that interesting accumulation of skill and homo sapiens chance development of capacity toward the possibility of expressing human visual mystery.

Highlighted Exhibitions
• Crocker Art Museum. Sacramento, CA. drawing exhibition
• Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco. “Sculpture Invitational;” group exhibition
• Pasadena Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA, “ Southern California Attitudes”,
Reviewed in “Art in America”, “Artweek”, and Los Angeles Times.
• Whitney Museum Invitational, NYC, “Sculpture Annual”. Reviewed in “Art
Reviewed in “Art Forum”, “Arts International”, “Arts” and “Village Voice”
• U.C. Davis Art Gallery, Davis, CA. One person exhibition
• Museum of Modern Art, NYC, invitational drawing exhibition

Awards and Grants
• California Arts Council Grant; 1983-84, 1984-85.
• National Endowment for the Arts Grant; 1974

Selected Exhibitions

2004  “NEOMOD”, Recent Northern California Abstraction. Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
“Cut-ups, Ready-Mades, Color Fact,” JAYJAY. Group Show.
“a ride on the drift….”, JAYJAY , one-person exhibition, Sacramento, CA
"Rendering and Articulation, a drawing exhibit.” The Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, a group show, Carmel, CA

2000  University of the Pacific, Reynolds Gallery, one-person exhibition
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Rental Gallery

1999  “Picturing California’s Other Landscape: The Great Central Valley”, Book and Group Show.
Haggin Museum, Stockton, CA.
Mad River Post, San Francisco, CA. 3-person show
Firehouse Gallery, Sacramento, CA. Group Show

1997  Nevada City County Administration Building, Nevada City, CA. one-person exhibition
Abiquiu Inn Gallery, Abiquiu, New Mexico. Group show
Oberlander Residence, Esananola, New Mexico. Two-person show
Hanson Howard Gallery, Ashland, OR. Two-person show

1995  Dorsey Barr Fine Arts, Santa Monica, CA. Group show

1996  Gloria Delsen Fine Arts, Los Angeles, CA. Group show
Orlando Gallery, Sherman Oaks, CA. Group show
Robert Else Gallery, Department of Art, SCUS, Sacramento, CA. Two-person show

1994  Gorman Museum, Davis, CA. One person exhibition
Art Museum, Northern Arizona University, Flaffstaff, AR. Group exhibition
Madame Frogs Art Gallery and Café: Sacramento, CA. One-person exhibition
Weintraub Hunter Gallery, Sacramento, CA. Two-person exhibition

1991  California State Capitol, Sacramento, CA. One-person exhibition
Center for Creative Students, Orangevale, CA. Two-person exhibition

1990  California State Capitol, Sacramento, CA. one-person exhibition

1989  American River Collage, Sacramento, CA. Two-person exhibition

1988  New Wave Gallery, San Francisco, CA. One-person exhibition

1987  University of the Pacific Art Gallery, Stockton, CA., retrospective
Oil and Steel Gallery, New York, NY. Group exhibition

1986  San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA. Group exhibition
Shackleford and Sears Gallery, Davis, CA. “Air Polutted Watercolors”

1985  San Diego Union, “The Arts”, by Robert L. Pincus. December 8
Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, purchase of two large drawings for Art in Public Places.
Effie Yeaw Interpretive Center, Sacramento, CA. Drawing exhibition
The Heights Gallery, Sacramento, CA. Two-person exhibition

1984  Effie Yeaw Interpretive Center, Ancil Hoffman Park, Sacramento, CA. Drawing exhibition
Candy Store Gallery, Sacramento, CA. Drawing exhibition
Jennifer Pauls Gallery, Sacramento, CA. Group exhibition
J Robert Else Gallery, SCUS, Sacramento, CA. “Sacramento Collections”
California Arts Council Grant Recipient
“Small Works National”: reviewed in Art Work, January 1984

1983  Rutgers University, New Jersey, group drawing exhibition
Zane Gallery, Rochester, NY. “Small Works National”
Evans-Poirier Gallery, Sacramento, CA. Group exhibition
California Arts Council Grant Recipient

1982  New York Public Library, New York, NY. Acquisition of “Ellen Van Fleet Gallops Off…” a 26-minute videotape
Page-Price Gallery, San Francisco, CA. Drawing and sculpture exhibition

1981  Joseph Chowning Gallery, San Francisco, CA. Drawing and sculpture exhibition
Jennifer Pauls Gallery, Sacramento, CA. Two-person exhibition

1980  Artist’s Contemporary Gallery, Sacramento, CA. drawing exhibition, articles: Art Week, “Phylogenic Connection”, October
Collage of the Redwoods, Eureka, CA. One-person exhibition\

1979  Kathryn Markel Gallery, New York, NY. Book show
Fashion Moda, Bronx, NY. Group exhibition
Pence Gallery, Davis, CA. Exhibition of cloisonné and related drawings
Traveling exhibition, “Artist’s Books, USA”.

1978  420 West Broadway, NYC; installation and performance
La Jolla Museum, “Recent Acquisitions”.
“Arts Magazine”: Toward a History of California Performance” by Mora Roth

1977  California State University Gallery, Sacramento, CA. Multi-media exhibition. Reviewed in Art Week, October
University of California, San Diego, CA. lecture and performance
University of California, San Diego, CA. “Artist’s Books”
Mills College Gallery, “Book Works”
Holly Solomon Gallery, NYC, group exhibition

1976  Richard Bellamy Gallery, NYC, group exhibition
Collaboration at Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, CA. experiments in book and papermaking
New School for Social Research, NYC, “International Woman’s Arts Festival”, a traveling exhibition and publication

1975  Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA. Group exhibition
La Jolla Museum, La Jolla, CA. Performance and lecture
“Anonymous Was A Woman”; group exhibition and book. Produced by California Institute of the Arts.

1973  Received grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Institute for Design, Almnebad, India. Exhibit of sculpture, collage and drawing.

1972  Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX. 3 month opening exhibition; showed large work called “New York City Animal Levels” using live animals. Reviewed in Art in America.

1971  Richmond Art Museum , Richmond, CA. “California Girls”. Reviewed in Avalanche magazine California State University, Los Angeles Art Gallery, exhibition with Ida Applebroog. Reviewed in Los Angeles Times
Noah Goldowsky Gallery, New York, NY. Group exhibition
Paula Cooper Gallery, New York, NY. Drawing exhibition

1970  Studio event and installation, Crosby Street, New York, NY. “Glaciers and Avalanches”.
Noah Goldowsky Gallery, New York, NY. Invitational. Drawing exhibition
Paula Cooper Gallery, New York, NY. Invitational. Drawing exhibition

1969  Installed and performed a series of “Street Works” with other artists on individual street locations in New York City. Reviewed in Art News and Village Voice.
Weatherspoon Art Gallery, North Carolina, “Art Works on Paper”, group invitational exhibition
Choisonne’ Exhibition; group show of jewels made by work masters who had studied and taught with Robert Kulocke in his New York City workshop. Reviewed in New York Times and American Crafts.

1968  UC Berkeley Gallery, “The Repair Show”, group invitational. Showed repaired sculpture
Noah Goldowsky, New York, NY. “From Arp to Artschwager”, group invitational

1967  Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY. “Secret Dust”, uninvited sculptures show
UC Davis, “Van Fleet”, solo exhibition, large work.