Ellen Zaks is a visionary painter, poet and dancer. Born in London, she has exhibited extensively in the UK and abroad and her work is included in several collections. Many of her poems were published in an anthology by Quantum Unit in 2008.
"I paint as a dancer and begin with a figure in motion, for I see that movement is in everything... It is the dance of life within the living universe." Wayne McGregor, resident choreographer at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden is an admirer of her work and recently commented 'Gorgeous!' on her series of Mannequin paintings.
Inspired by the works of Rodin, Ellen studied sculpture and anatomy at the Sir John Cass College of Art, London and began to paint after she had completed the innovative Expressive Arts degree in art and dance at Brighton University. She became fascinated by the theories of quantum physics, which teach us that there is a secret dance of energies that we are not aware of with normal vision, including the electrical activity of our thoughts and emotions.
She turned from sculpture to painting when she perceived that in a quantum reality, human beings are interpenetrated by their surroundings. She realised that for her, painting could better reflect this truth. Like Tintoretto, Ellen paints the figure in such a way that it allows us a glimpse of the soul.
