Elizabeth Wiseman

Art is my native tongue. It is the language I use to express what words cannot capture; it is the ineffable that defines my inner world. I trained in theater, and my abstract paintings tend to suggest narrative, but that is not necessarily by design. Evolution of spirit and mind is important to me, and the human story inspires much of my work. I trained with people who were out to change the world, and I believe that is what art is all about. Although my work speaks to the evolution of humanity, my paintings rarely feature human forms. I speak through abstractions, geometry, and elemental forces. I paint without a subject or plan, but in response to a tension between the moment in history, the paint, and myself. The colors, and the nature of the forms that emerge are a record of an ongoing dialogue.

Elizabeth Wiseman grew up in Tacoma Washington where fog heavy mornings were scented with salt from the Pacific waters, and arsenic from the pulp mills. In the 1960’s logging trucks could still be filled with a single Douglas fir. In the 70’s Elizabeth began a slow migration toward adulthood studying at Cornish Institute for the Arts in Seattle WA. A few years later she headed to Paris France and earned a degree in theater arts from L’Ecole International de Jacques Lecoq. Subsequently, Elizabeth co-founded Theater Grottesco and toured Europe and the U.S. until the mid 90’s, performing original plays, teaching, and learning to see. Detroit MI was the company’s home base in those days and Elizabeth had reached her mid 30’s; adult enough to have a fledgling vision. On tour breaks she would set up the easel and paint. Her work was fueled by summer tornados on Lake Michigan, castles in Eastern Europe’s countryside, race riots in California…a rapidly expanding collection of life impressions. In 1996 Elizabeth relocated to Santa Fe New Mexico and all painting ceased. The muse slept. She made theater… and she made shoes, studied law, worked in hospice care, wrote an opera, two-stepped in cowboy boots…and landed at New Mexico School for the Arts as a theater instructor until finally, the muse woke, ravenous for canvas and paint. Elizabeth’s work reflects a universal humanity; the need for meaning, and the conflict that need inspires.

2-D, Painting (all materials)