Ellen Sapienza

"I aim to find joy in the physical world of visual sensations, in order, rhythm and color, in surprise, contradiction and mystery. Feelings, memories and histories layer over these sensations and meld into a new physical object a work of art."
-Ellen Sapienza

Ellen Sapienza was born in 1958 in St. Louis, MO, and has resided in Bucks County since 1998. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts and Psychology from St. Louis University in 1980. Soon thereafter, she earned a certificate in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, PA, in 1986. While there, she studied under Seymour Remnick, David Fertig, and Sidney Goodman. She later studied under Robert Kulicke, a painter and master frame maker, in New York, NY. Influenced by the American Modernists and French Post-Impressionists, Sapienza works from life, seeking to create a response through her paintings.

Sapienza's art has been exhibited in several institutions including the SFA Gallery in Frenchtown, NJ; Peggy Lewis Gallery in Lambertville, NJ; Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia, PA; University of Delaware in Newark, DE; Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, PA; and Westmoreland Museum of Art in Greensburg, PA. Some of her works are featured in the Bryn Mawr Art Collection at Bryn Mawr College and the Pyramid Club in Philadelphia, PA.

Education and Training
Certificate in Painting, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 1986
B.A., Fine Arts and Psychology, St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO, 1980

Teachers and Influences
Studied under Robert Kulicke, painter and master frame maker, New York City, NY, 1997
Studied under Seymour Remnick, David Fertig and Sidney Goodman at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 1986

Connection to Bucks County
Sapienza moved to Bucks County in 1998. She currently resides in Upper Black Eddy, PA.

Exhibitions
New Work, Solo Exhibition, SFA Gallery, Frenchtown, NJ, 2014
Savor: The Exhibition, Group Exhibition, New Hope Art Center, New Hope, NJ, 2012
Art Between the Covers, Group Exhibition, Philadelphia Sculptors at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 2010
Pennsylvania Sizzler, Invitational Exhibition, 3rd Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2009
Recent Works, Two-Person Exhibition, Stover Mill Gallery, Erwinna, PA, 2008
Paintings and Drawings, Solo Exhibition, Peggy Lewis Gallery, Lambertville, PA, 2007
Group Exhibition, Pandion Gallery, Fishers Island, NY, 2002
Group Exhibition, F.A.N. Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 1999
Still Life, Group Exhibition, Mulligan-Shanoski Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 1998
Private Worlds, Delaware Women's Conference Exhibition, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 1997
Collector's Choice, Somerville-Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE, 1996
Comparisons and Contrasts, Somerville-Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE, 1995
Six American Painters, Sponsored Exhibition by Thomas and Brenda Lippincott, Paris, France, 1995
Landscape Works by Women Artists, Scott Memorial Study Collection, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA, 1994
Artists Look at the Delaware River Watershed, The American College, Bryn Mawr, PA, 1994
Accent on South Jersey, Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, NJ, 1992
Recent Paintings, Solo Exhibition, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 1991
Ten Contemporary Philadelphia Painters, Westmoreland Museum of Art, Greensburg, PA, 1991

Collections
Bryn Mawr Art Collection, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA
Pyramid Club, Philadelphia, PA