BIOGRAPHY

Josiah Ellner is a Chicago-based artist currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts in painting and drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Ellner was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but grew up in Xi’an China. Growing up in a city of more than 10 million people with scarce green spaces and little to no wildlife, he has always felt a disconnect from the natural world. Despite these feelings of alienation, he has found himself strangely drawn to nature and a yearning to reconnect with it. From his personal experiences of encountering and engaging with nature, Ellner weaves together playful narratives that capture these fleeting moments of intimate connection. Through careful abstraction, he is able to heighten and fully portray the whimsical and awkward interactions that he has with the natural world.