ELLIS

Lee Ellis is a Bristol-based artist known for his dynamic abstract portraits. The expressive portrait paintings Ellis creates are characterised by saturated colours and heavy brushwork, which dramatically convey the raw emotion of his subjects. The artist’s practice is process-led to emphasise pure human expression, which is reflected in the visceral energy of each piece.

With abstract colours and fragmented figures, Lee Ellis’ style and power of emotional affect is reminiscent of Expressionism. For Ellis, the creative process is chaotic and destructive, using the energy of the painting process to reveal the dark inner truth of each subject. Through these shadowy psychological portraits, Lee Ellis’ expressionism art pays homage to the modern portrait art of Lucien Freud, Francis Bacon and Frank Auerbach.