Ellen Armer King is a rare breed, a third generation Angeleno. Her roots trace back to the Los Angeles of the late 19th century. Born in 1950, young Ellen soon discovered the magic of art. She drew constantly. By age ten she was winning school and city competitions. Art was a constant source of joy and security. Everything felt safe on L.A.'s "Westside."
That sense of security was shattered by the Vietnam War. Suddenly nothing felt safe. Friends were drafted. Friends died. Overnight, society's favorite color became khaki. In 1968, as a student at Oregon State University, King joined her fellow classmates in protesting the war. The chasm between the lies and hypocrisy, and the truth that lay beneath, was the ideology of the hippie movement. It would surface later as a key element in King's work.
In the early 1970's King moved to Europe. Visits to Dutch, French and Italian museums, were like studying at the hands of the Masters. She lived in Haarlem, Holland for nine months then moved to Paris, France for three years, studying at the Sorbonne. In Paris, Ellen discovered the joy of teaching. A succinct formalization of one's thoughts now had to be clearly verbalized for herself and her students. She returned to Los Angeles in 1975 to begin her illustrious 30-year career at the Brentwood Art Center. King taught and trained new teachers. She designed and implemented a variety of art classes, summer camps and programs for some of Los Angeles' most prestigious institutions including the J. Paul Getty Museum.
Extensive travel throughout Europe, Israel, Africa and India proved to King that location may change the imagery, but it never changes the truth, the essence of what lay beneath the surface. Her trips became an inspiration for making art, as documented in her most current "Faces of India" series as well as her "Zimbabwe" series.
In 1998 King was asked back to Zimbabwe by the National Gallery Museum in Harare. However, the U.S. State Department edict prevented travel to that country. Instead, King exhibited the work at the Ernie Wolfe Gallery where critics heralded the show.
King's artistic heroes and greatest influences are Jim Dine, Richard Diebenkorn and Eric Fischl. She considers the experience of meeting Dine and discussing the impact of art in their lives, a personal and professional highlight.
"Each of us presents an image to the world," King says. "Painting is my way of finding a universal truth on a tableau that reveals our humanity, our vulnerability and our grace."
Today, Ellen King lives and works in Los Angeles--back on the "Westside."
