David Ellis: Turntable Tree

David Ellis

Turntable Tree, 2005 
Screenprint
38 x 29 inches
Edition of 75
Value $600

$400 (+ packing and shipping) unframed

David Ellis (b. 1971) is a multimedia painter and installation artist whose work emphasizes the passage of time, sound, and both planned and improvised collaborations. Among his most iconic works are “motion paintings,” in which Ellis continuously renders marks on the surfaces of public walls and floors; he photographs the process and presents it as a time-lapse film. Ellis is also known for his kinetic sound sculptures that make use of motors, and for staging live performances and music events during his exhibitions. Recurring motifs in his work include tobacco-stained paper, icons of Americana, and pianos.

A student of Robert Breer and Hans Haacke at New York’s Cooper Union, he has exhibited at Rice University Art Gallery in Houston, the Josh Liner Gallery of New York, and the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh. Turntable Tree was created to accompany the CAC Cincinnati’s 2005-06 exhibition Gadget: Mechanics and Motion in Contemporary Art, which featured the artist’s sound machines, including the Orchestration series.