Roll Up Project is pleased to present abstract paintings by Ellen Burgin. Burgin's recent work explores moments of transitions - both physical and metaphorical - and the ways we navigate these margins of tension and potential.
Two large-scale works on paper fill the Harrison Street window: Seat of the Voice (2025) and Mouth of the Forest (2025). A green and blue area fills the top half of Seat of the Voice, suggesting the feeling of moving from a bright, open space into the dappled shade of a grove of trees. Set against a gray and white object in the foreground, the glowing forest appears to be an enticing destination. But within, there are unknown factors like potential dangers or unclear paths. How do we propel ourselves forward when fear and curiosity are comingled? Mouth of the Forest presents an alternate perspective, using a similar composition but a darker color palette. Suddenly, the white lines echoed in Seat of the Voice leap out and dominate the canvas, and the forest becomes a darkened void. Burgin says, "in painting, I embrace doubt and indecision not as obstacles, but as forces that resist certainty, shaping the emerging forms." Seen as a diptych, these two paintings could be interpreted as two different perspectives of the same challenge, and the repeated imagery helps to illuminate those very forces that are working against certainty.
Chart (2024) is installed in the windows on Third Street, alongside Radiation Butterfly (2024) and Dandelion (2024). Burgin describes the intricate dotted white lines and stripes in Chart as scaffolds or patterns that suggest a preparatory layer for a painting yet to be realized. Billowing yellow and red lines with amoeba-like cilia encircle the composition, framing the scene while also being a primary feature. When the same amoeba-like shape is repeated on a much smaller scale in Radiation Butterfly, it takes on new meaning as a familiar and identifiable insect.
Burgin notes that many of her finished paintings give rise to more questions, sparking a sense of urgency to begin new works. Each iteration distills her concepts, while opening space for experimentation and new ways of expressing complex ideas.
Contemporary culture gooses individuals to optimize, hack, and attune themselves to a nearly-impossible ideal, leading some to feel constrained or inadequate. And in an era of artificial imagery, it may be harder to discern truth in glossy and idealized images. Burgin's interest in painting is not the edge of perfection, but the other end of that ambiguous zone: the edge of imperfection. What is the border between acceptable and unacceptable imperfection? And who gets to decide? Burgin's work illuminates the nuances and factors at play, and embraces the uncertainty that exists in so many facets of our lives, rather than providing a singular solution.
About the Artist
Ellen Burgin has exhibited her work nationally in galleries and museums and her work is included in the permanent collections of The Huntsville Museum of Art in Alabama, Alexandria Museum of Art in Louisiana. Burgin is the recipient of several grants and awards for her work, including a Wake County Regional Artist grant and a Vermont Studio Center Artist Residency grant and was a 2024 artist-in-residence at Vashon AIR. She received a BFA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and her MFA from Louisiana State University on a teaching scholarship. Born and raised in Marion, North Carolina, a small town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Burgin has called San Francisco home since 2006.
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Two large-scale works on paper fill the Harrison Street window: Seat of the Voice (2025) and Mouth of the Forest (2025). A green and blue area fills the top half of Seat of the Voice, suggesting the feeling of moving from a bright, open space into the dappled shade of a grove of trees. Set against a gray and white object in the foreground, the glowing forest appears to be an enticing destination. But within, there are unknown factors like potential dangers or unclear paths. How do we propel ourselves forward when fear and curiosity are comingled? Mouth of the Forest presents an alternate perspective, using a similar composition but a darker color palette. Suddenly, the white lines echoed in Seat of the Voice leap out and dominate the canvas, and the forest becomes a darkened void. Burgin says, "in painting, I embrace doubt and indecision not as obstacles, but as forces that resist certainty, shaping the emerging forms." Seen as a diptych, these two paintings could be interpreted as two different perspectives of the same challenge, and the repeated imagery helps to illuminate those very forces that are working against certainty.
Chart (2024) is installed in the windows on Third Street, alongside Radiation Butterfly (2024) and Dandelion (2024). Burgin describes the intricate dotted white lines and stripes in Chart as scaffolds or patterns that suggest a preparatory layer for a painting yet to be realized. Billowing yellow and red lines with amoeba-like cilia encircle the composition, framing the scene while also being a primary feature. When the same amoeba-like shape is repeated on a much smaller scale in Radiation Butterfly, it takes on new meaning as a familiar and identifiable insect.
Burgin notes that many of her finished paintings give rise to more questions, sparking a sense of urgency to begin new works. Each iteration distills her concepts, while opening space for experimentation and new ways of expressing complex ideas.
Contemporary culture gooses individuals to optimize, hack, and attune themselves to a nearly-impossible ideal, leading some to feel constrained or inadequate. And in an era of artificial imagery, it may be harder to discern truth in glossy and idealized images. Burgin's interest in painting is not the edge of perfection, but the other end of that ambiguous zone: the edge of imperfection. What is the border between acceptable and unacceptable imperfection? And who gets to decide? Burgin's work illuminates the nuances and factors at play, and embraces the uncertainty that exists in so many facets of our lives, rather than providing a singular solution.
About the Artist
Ellen Burgin has exhibited her work nationally in galleries and museums and her work is included in the permanent collections of The Huntsville Museum of Art in Alabama, Alexandria Museum of Art in Louisiana. Burgin is the recipient of several grants and awards for her work, including a Wake County Regional Artist grant and a Vermont Studio Center Artist Residency grant and was a 2024 artist-in-residence at Vashon AIR. She received a BFA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and her MFA from Louisiana State University on a teaching scholarship. Born and raised in Marion, North Carolina, a small town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Burgin has called San Francisco home since 2006.
Roll Up Project is pleased to present abstract paintings by Ellen Burgin. Burgin's recent work explores moments of transitions - both physical and metaphorical - and the ways we navigate these margins of tension and potential.
Two large-scale works on paper fill the Harrison Street window: Seat of the Voice (2025) and Mouth of the Forest (2025). A green and blue area fills the top half of Seat of the Voice, suggesting the feeling of moving from a bright, open space into the dappled shade of a grove of trees. Set against a gray and white object in the foreground, the glowing forest appears to be an enticing destination. But within, there are unknown factors like potential dangers or unclear paths. How do we propel ourselves forward when fear and curiosity are comingled? Mouth of the Forest presents an alternate perspective, using a similar composition but a darker color palette. Suddenly, the white lines echoed in Seat of the Voice leap out and dominate the canvas, and the forest becomes a darkened void. Burgin says, "in painting, I embrace doubt and indecision not as obstacles, but as forces that resist certainty, shaping the emerging forms." Seen as a diptych, these two paintings could be interpreted as two different perspectives of the same challenge, and the repeated imagery helps to illuminate those very forces that are working against certainty.
Chart (2024) is installed in the windows on Third Street, alongside Radiation Butterfly (2024) and Dandelion (2024). Burgin describes the intricate dotted white lines and stripes in Chart as scaffolds or patterns that suggest a preparatory layer for a painting yet to be realized. Billowing yellow and red lines with amoeba-like cilia encircle the composition, framing the scene while also being a primary feature. When the same amoeba-like shape is repeated on a much smaller scale in Radiation Butterfly, it takes on new meaning as a familiar and identifiable insect.
Burgin notes that many of her finished paintings give rise to more questions, sparking a sense of urgency to begin new works. Each iteration distills her concepts, while opening space for experimentation and new ways of expressing complex ideas.
Contemporary culture gooses individuals to optimize, hack, and attune themselves to a nearly-impossible ideal, leading some to feel constrained or inadequate. And in an era of artificial imagery, it may be harder to discern truth in glossy and idealized images. Burgin's interest in painting is not the edge of perfection, but the other end of that ambiguous zone: the edge of imperfection. What is the border between acceptable and unacceptable imperfection? And who gets to decide? Burgin's work illuminates the nuances and factors at play, and embraces the uncertainty that exists in so many facets of our lives, rather than providing a singular solution.
About the Artist
Ellen Burgin has exhibited her work nationally in galleries and museums and her work is included in the permanent collections of The Huntsville Museum of Art in Alabama, Alexandria Museum of Art in Louisiana. Burgin is the recipient of several grants and awards for her work, including a Wake County Regional Artist grant and a Vermont Studio Center Artist Residency grant and was a 2024 artist-in-residence at Vashon AIR. She received a BFA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and her MFA from Louisiana State University on a teaching scholarship. Born and raised in Marion, North Carolina, a small town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Burgin has called San Francisco home since 2006.
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Two large-scale works on paper fill the Harrison Street window: Seat of the Voice (2025) and Mouth of the Forest (2025). A green and blue area fills the top half of Seat of the Voice, suggesting the feeling of moving from a bright, open space into the dappled shade of a grove of trees. Set against a gray and white object in the foreground, the glowing forest appears to be an enticing destination. But within, there are unknown factors like potential dangers or unclear paths. How do we propel ourselves forward when fear and curiosity are comingled? Mouth of the Forest presents an alternate perspective, using a similar composition but a darker color palette. Suddenly, the white lines echoed in Seat of the Voice leap out and dominate the canvas, and the forest becomes a darkened void. Burgin says, "in painting, I embrace doubt and indecision not as obstacles, but as forces that resist certainty, shaping the emerging forms." Seen as a diptych, these two paintings could be interpreted as two different perspectives of the same challenge, and the repeated imagery helps to illuminate those very forces that are working against certainty.
Chart (2024) is installed in the windows on Third Street, alongside Radiation Butterfly (2024) and Dandelion (2024). Burgin describes the intricate dotted white lines and stripes in Chart as scaffolds or patterns that suggest a preparatory layer for a painting yet to be realized. Billowing yellow and red lines with amoeba-like cilia encircle the composition, framing the scene while also being a primary feature. When the same amoeba-like shape is repeated on a much smaller scale in Radiation Butterfly, it takes on new meaning as a familiar and identifiable insect.
Burgin notes that many of her finished paintings give rise to more questions, sparking a sense of urgency to begin new works. Each iteration distills her concepts, while opening space for experimentation and new ways of expressing complex ideas.
Contemporary culture gooses individuals to optimize, hack, and attune themselves to a nearly-impossible ideal, leading some to feel constrained or inadequate. And in an era of artificial imagery, it may be harder to discern truth in glossy and idealized images. Burgin's interest in painting is not the edge of perfection, but the other end of that ambiguous zone: the edge of imperfection. What is the border between acceptable and unacceptable imperfection? And who gets to decide? Burgin's work illuminates the nuances and factors at play, and embraces the uncertainty that exists in so many facets of our lives, rather than providing a singular solution.
About the Artist
Ellen Burgin has exhibited her work nationally in galleries and museums and her work is included in the permanent collections of The Huntsville Museum of Art in Alabama, Alexandria Museum of Art in Louisiana. Burgin is the recipient of several grants and awards for her work, including a Wake County Regional Artist grant and a Vermont Studio Center Artist Residency grant and was a 2024 artist-in-residence at Vashon AIR. She received a BFA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and her MFA from Louisiana State University on a teaching scholarship. Born and raised in Marion, North Carolina, a small town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Burgin has called San Francisco home since 2006.
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