Ellie Balk

Statement

I am an artist obsessed with color, pattern, music and mathematics. Through a process developed over years of working with community groups and high school students, I create systematic rules and use mathematical concepts as the basis of my artwork and installations. My role in the work is that of a composer. I drive my compositions by creating specific rule sets and color codes that build systems with which can be read and interacted by the viewer. Although the work is formally abstract, there is a language to the compositions that engage participation and investigation.

Artworks

This work is a visualize of the number Pi represented as a reflective line graph. Every time there was a prime number, I drew a vertical line, creating a structure to create a system of coloring the work. This print is part of a larger mural project that was painted with High School Math students in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York.