Elena Hartley is a multi-disciplinary artist using drawing, painting, etching and lithography to create work that intertwines memories, the dismantling and questioning of female archetypes, daily minutiae and future fears.
Somewhere in between deadly serious and seriously goofy, Hartley’s work draws inspiration from the iconographic paintings of the Renaissance as well as references to popular culture, including but not limited to; Angela Carter’s novel ‘The Passion of New Eve’ and The Real Housewives franchise, further questioning ideas surrounding the self, the human condition and domesticity.
Hartley’s work is instinctual, immediate and self-referential, allowing figures and forms to emerge and act as vehicles for Hartley to better tell her own personal story, challenging the dialogue between drawing, painting and printmaking.
She currently resides in Bristol, where she has a studio at Jamaica Street Studios.