Artist

Ellen Christiansen is a formal figurative sculptor based in London. She works exclusively with the live model.

From 16 years of age, she studied at Chelsea and Camberwell art schools graduating from Camberwell BAHons 1986. She has established an international reputation for her unique and exacting technique in both portraiture and figure. She works exclusively from life in clay, with a method based on the ‘pointing’ technique used by stone carvers. This technique was first used for working directly from the live figure and passed on to her, by her Camberwell teacher and mentor Brian Taylor FRBS. She has since developed the technique on in her own way. Other influences include Rodin & Degas.

Ellen has exhibited with and been a member of the Society of Portrait Sculptors since 2011.

Prizes include, the Heatherleys Prize 2023 selected by Nicola Hicks for the best piece in the SPS show & The Founders Sculpture Prize 2015 which is a prestigious biennial award administered by the Society of Portrait Sculptors on behalf of the Founders Company.

Works of drawing, painting and sculpture are in many private collections in the UK and internationally.

‘’Many hours with my model allows me to get to know them physically and mentally. It literally enables me to see more. For me, surface is a by product of the internal forces at play. A portrait is about stillness and the internal world of the sitter, both physical and emotional. They relax into their non performative expression. With my figure work it’s more about movement. I often adapt poses after a while as I begin to understand the forces at play in any given pose.’’