about
Chelsea Ellis (b. 1987, Maine) is a photographic artist who lives and works in Rockland, Maine. She earned her BA in Photography from the University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME in 2012. Ellis has exhibited in a number of exhibitions in Maine, including 36 Windows Photography Exhibition by Lights Out Gallery in Norway (2024), the House Support Itself exhibition by Lights Out Gallery and Fort Hall in Brunswick (2024), Chelsea Ellis and Todd Watts exhibition at the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts in Portland (2023), Made Not Taken exhibition at the Gascoine Gallery in Monson (2022), and No Time exhibition at Ticonic Gallery in Waterville (2022). Ellis has had her work reviewed in the Portland Press Herald and Artscope Magazine.
artist statement
In my photographic work, I use my body and paint to create composite images of humanoid forms that blur the boundaries between the familiar and unfamiliar, investigating structures of the human body and posing the questions: Who are we? What are we?
Instagram: @heychellisea
exhibitions
2025
Eight-Person Exhibition, Impolitic, Sidle House Gallery, Freeport, ME
(Curated by Maddy Vertenten, gallerist)
Eight-Person Exhibition, Found and Lost, Notch8 Gallery, Portland, ME
(Curated by Sharon Dennehy, gallerist)
Community Exhibition, ARTPM 2025, Buoy Gallery, Kittery, ME
2024
Five-Person Exhibition, 36 Windows, Lights Out Gallery, Norway, ME
(Curated by Daniel Sipe and Reed McLean, gallerists)
21-Person Exhibition, Figurative – The Body as Language, Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, Portland, ME
(Curated by Denise Froehlich, gallerist)
Four-Person Exhibition, Body Language, Over Here Studio, Portland, ME
(Curated by Rachel and Ryan Adams, artists)
Community Exhibition, ARTPM 2024, Buoy Gallery, Kittery, ME
23-Person Exhibition, the House Support Itself, Lights Out Gallery and Fort Hall Gallery, Brunswick, ME
(Curated by Ian Trask, artist)
2023
Two-Person Exhibition, Chelsea Ellis and Todd Watts, Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, Portland, ME
(Curated by Denise Froehlich, gallerist)
2022
Eight-Person Exhibition, Made Not Taken, Gascoine Gallery, Monson, ME
(Curated by Todd Watts, artist)
Seven-Person Exhibition, No Time, Ticonic Gallery, Waterville, ME
(Curated by Matt Demers, artist)
Community Exhibition, ARTPM 2022, Buoy Gallery, Kittery, ME
2020
28-Person Exhibition, Community Quilt, Circling the Square Fine Art Press, Gardiner, ME
(Curated by Karen Adrienne, artist)
2019
Six-Person Exhibition, A Possible Practice, Cong Tu Bot, Portland, ME
(Curated by Alana Dao and Meg Willing, artists)
Solo Exhibition, Catharsis, CoworkHERS, Portland, ME
(Curated by Anne Marie Purkey Levine, art consultant)
2018
Two-Person Exhibition, In This Skin, Akari, Portland, ME
(Curated by Anne Marie Purkey Levine, art consultant)
Juried Group Exhibition, Art2018, Harlow Gallery, Hallowell, ME
(Curated by Bethany Engstrom, artist/curator)
residency
2024 — Photography Residency, Lights Out Gallery, Norway, ME
2021 — Abbott Watts Residency for Photography, Monson Arts, Monson, ME
commission
2022 — Public Art Commission, The Perceiver and The Perceived, polyester flag (3 x 5ft.), SPACE Gallery, Portland, ME
bibliography
Arango, Jorge. “Lights Out Gallery gives you 2 reasons to book it to Norway: These nearby shows — one of photography, the other straddling the line of art and craft — both close Oct. 13.” Portland Press Herald, September 25, 2024. https://www.pressherald.com/2024/09/25/lights-out-gallery-gives-you-2-reasons-to-book-it-to-norway/
Arango, Jorge. “Brunswick Show Explores How Art Connects Creative Couples: Discover the Cross-Currents and Influences in Pieces by Life Partners Displayed Together at Fort Hall Gallery.” Portland Press Herald, February 11, 2024. https://www.pressherald.com/2024/02/11/art-review-compare-and-contrast-the-work-of-art-couples-in-brunswick-show/
Arango, Jorge. “See the Color-Saturated Work of Two Photographers Who Push Boundaries: ‘Chelsea Ellis and Todd Watts’ Is Showing at Maine Museum of Photographic Arts in Portland.” Portland Press Herald, September 10, 2023. https://www.pressherald.com/2023/09/10/art-review-see-the-color-saturated-work-of-two-photographers-who-push-boundaries/
Sutherland, Linda. “Hell Bent to Kick the Edges: Chelsea Ellis and Todd Watts at MMPA Portland.” Artscope Magazine, August 28, 2023, pp. 12–14.
Little, Carl. “Monson Arts: Cultivating the Muse: Artists and Writers Find Space, Time, and Community on the Shores of Lake Hebron.” Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, May/June 2022. https://maineboats.com/print/issue-176/monson-arts-cultivating-muse
community art publications
2020 — “Etymologies,” A Possible Practice 1 (January)
2019 — “Liminal,” Detritus 4 (June)
education
University of Southern Maine, Gorham, ME
Bachelor of Arts in Photography, 2012