Ellen Alt (b. 1954) is a visual artist based in New York City. Alt’s work explores communication, and the environment, weaving together material investigations with broader cultural and ecological concerns. Recent projects examine the elemental materials of the Earth and the nostalgic language of television through test patterns and iconography.
Alt’s Earth Elements series turns to the physical world, grounding environmental concerns in the materials of the planet itself. Across this body of work, she highlights the interconnectedness of Earth’s systems and our place within them. Through layered perspectives—moving from water and ice at the surface, to air and sky above, to precious metals and rare earth elements below—the series emphasizes both the beauty and complexity of the natural world.
Alt reflects also on our diminishing ability to communicate. While television test patterns may appear as relics, they trace the evolution of technology—from black and white to color, analog to digital, and internet to AI. Despite the proliferation of communication tools, the potential for shared understanding appears increasingly fragile.
Expanding on this idea, Alt’s work with television transmission treats the TV as an iconic object, recalling a time when shared media fostered greater cohesion and less divisive exchange. This series has expanded to include sculptural television forms arranged in playful, family-like configurations.
Together, these bodies of work draw a parallel between the fragility of the Earth and the erosion of our ability to communicate with one another. As natural systems face increasing instability, so too do the social and cultural systems that depend on connection and shared understanding—suggesting that environmental degradation and the breakdown of communication are deeply intertwined.
Ellen has also worked for decades on community-based art projects around the world to promote understanding. Through the process of painting murals and building concrete sculpture, people get to know each other while working collectively to bring about positive change to their neighborhoods. Alt has facilitated projects in India, the UK, the Middle East and throughout the USA. http://www.ellenaltcommunity.com/
The Climate Change work and her community-based projects are connected by the foundational idea that working together for change is empowered by the creative process. It has been her mission to pursue and share that process locally and globally.
Alt received an MA in studio art from New York University and a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2026
WITNESS TO CHANGE: Interpreting Climate Data, Climate Imaginarium, Governors Island, NY
COURTING CHALLENGES: Reflections on Progress, New York Society of Women Artists, Charles B. Sifton Gallery, Brooklyn Court House, Brooklyn, NY
DEMOCRACY: United We Stand, Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art, Philadelphia, PA
RE-UNION NEW YORK, WHITEBOX PORTABLE, Chashama, Port Authority, New York City, NY
WOMEN CELEBRATE WOMEN, El Barrio’s Artspace PS 109
WINDOWS ON ART https://www.youtube.com/@BSAG-TV/videos
BREATHE, New York Artist’s Circle, Westbeth Galllery, New York, NY
2025
UNDER THE SEA, UNESCO, \https://www.mokuartstudio.com/under-the-sea-1
SATELLITE COLLECTIVE, Telephone art game played with artists around the world
SEEING MUSIC, New York Artist’s Circle, Art at First, New York, NY
INTO THE NOW – THE TIME OF OUR LIVES: Centennial Exhibition of the New York Societyof Women Artists, CERES GALLERY, New York, NY, CATALOG
THE MEZUZAH MESSAGE, HELLER MUSEUM, New York, NY, CATALOG
SEEKING JOY, HELLER MUSEUM, New York, NY, CATALOG
TIKKUN OLAM: HEALING THE WORLD, Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art, Philadelphia, PA
REFLECTIONS ON PROGRESS, NYSWA, INTERCHURCH GALLERY, New York, NY
SCRIBBLES: THE ART OF EMERGING, ART AT FIRST, New York Artist’s Circle, New York, NY
FLOURISH, BLUE HILL ART AND CULTURAL CENTER, Pearl River, NY
SATELLITE COLLECTIVE, Telephone art game played with artists around the world
HELLER MUSEUM at HEBREW UNION COLLEGE, New York, NY: Seeking Joy
2024
DETRITUS/RECYCLE/FOUND OBJECTS, WAH (Williamsburg Art and Historical) CENTER, New York, NY
FADED SEA, New York Artist’s Circle, ART AT FIRST, New York, NY
WATERS, Grey Cube Gallery, on-line
READ, WRITE AND TRUE: DECLARATIONS OF CREATIVE INDEPENDENCE, NYSWA, Blue Mountain Gallery, New York, NY
DRAWING BEYOND THE SURFACE, LIC-A Art Space, Long Island City, NY
SPRING: CELEBRATION FOR THE EARTH, WAH CENTER, New York, NY
WOMEN CELEBRATE WOMEN, El Barrio’s Artspace PS 109
ALL TOGETHER NOW: INNOVATION THROUGH CREATION, NYSWA,, STEINBERG MUSEUM, Greenvale, NY
IMAGINARIUM, NY Artist’s Circle, ART AT FIRST, New York, NY
2023
HELLER MUSEUM at HEBREW UNION COLLEGE, New York, NY: Tzedek Box Pursuing Justice
BELSKIE MUSEUM OF ART AND SCIENCE, Closter, NJ, Hope Out of Darkness
QUEENS COLLEGE ART CENTER, Queens, NYNew York Society of Women Artists, 60 Together 100 Strong
WILLIAMSBURG ART AND HISTORICAL CENTER, New York, NY, 24th Annual Salon Show
2022
HOLY SPARKS, HELLER MUSEUM at HEBREW UNION COLLEGE, New York, NY, SKIRBALL MUSEUM, Cincinnati, OH, Catalog
CENTER FOR INTERFAITH COOPERATION, Indianapolis, IN, Holy Sparks CATALOG
NEW YORK ARTIST EQUITY ASSOCIATION GALLERY, Curatorial Residency Program Exhibition, New York, NY, Shifting Balance
EVOLUTION/REVOLTION, New York Society of Women Artists, TALLER BORICUA GALLERY, New York NY
CARTER BURDEN GALLERY, New York, NY, New York Artist’s Circle, Lost and Found
WILLIAMSBURG ART AND HISTORICAL CENTER, New York, NY, The Works Acquired in the Yuko Nii Foundation's Permanent Collection
2021
ANN STREET GALLERY, Newburgh, NY, Black Renaissance Festival
WILLIAMSBURG ART AND HISTORICAL CENTER, New York, NY, America the Beautiful and Togetherness and Oneness
BROOKLYN WATERFRONT ARTISTS COALITION, Brooklyn, NY Recycle and Art Over Time
DRAWING ROOMS, Jersey City, NJ, Rewriting Herstory: An Artsy International Exhibition Honoring Inspiring Women
FRAGILE EARTH, New York Artist’s Circle https://nyartistscircle.com/curated-shows/fragile-earth
SATELLITE COLLECTIVE, Telephone art game played with International artists, https://phonebook.gallery/, https://phonebook.gallery/artists/ellen-alt
2020 - 2018
LICHTUNDFIRE GALLERY, https://nyartistscircle.com/curated-shows/fragile-earth, A Sense of Ice
CHASHAMA: Space for Artists – SOLO SHOW, New York, NYSAVE THE EARTH, Art at First, New York, New York
BELSKIE MUSEUM OF ART AND SCIENCE, Closter, NJ, Freedom: An Artistic Expression
FEMALE GENDER IDENTITY & EQUALITY, New York Society of Women Artists, Brother Kenneth Chapman Gallery, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY
LIC ARTS OPEN GALLERY @ THE FACTORY LIC, curated by Grace Lerner, I Dream in Blue and Green
DELAWARE VALLEY ARTS ALLIANCE, For What it is Worth, Narrowsburg, NY
2017 - 2013
KRAFT CENTER, SOLO SHOW, Columbia/Barnard University, New York, NY
DREITZER GALLERY, SOLO SHOW, Brandeis University, Boston, MA
GALLERY AT MAYYIM HAYYIM, TWO-PERSON SHOW, Newton, MA
GEORGE BILLIS GALLERY, New York Society of Women Artists, New York, NY, The Primacy of Color
QUADRATFUSS, catalog, Annex Art, Berlin, Germany
HUMAN IMPACTS INSTITUTE, New York, NY, Climate Change Awards
RUSH ART GALLERY, New York, NY, Curate NYC
WESTBETH GALLERY, New York, NY, Ecology: The Difference Perception Makes
ART FAIRS
ASIA CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR http://www.asiacontemporaryart.com/artists/artist/Ellen_Alt/en/
Hong Kong, China, March 2018
FOUNTAIN ART FAIR, HULLABALLOO COLLECTIVE
New York, NY, Mar. 2012, Mar. 2013, Mar 2014
Paul Seftel Project Space, New York, NY, Aug. 2012
ARTICLES
Artsy Shark https://www.artsyshark.com/2020/03/04/artists-on-climate-change/, March 2020
Interalia http://www.interaliamag.org/interviews/ellen-alt/, EARTH, Issue 32, April 2017
Art New England http://artnewengland.com/ed_picks/aesthetics-of-disaster/, March/April 2017
Hadassah https://www.hadassahmagazine.org/2022/05/17/upcycling-a-bat-mitzvah-dvar-torah/
PRESS
Art Daily, Dec 8, 2018 http://artdaily.com/news/109749/Lichtundfire-opens-an-exhibition-by-eight-artists-whose-work-represents-ice#.XDoD7FxKjIU
Times Herald-record, MARCH 23, 2018 http://www.recordonline.com/entertainmentlife/20180322/climate-change-artistic-theme-in-two-big-exhibits
The Jewish Press: A Jewish Art Salon Exhibit, November 2010
Jewish Artists / Signatures & Monograms / International, John Castagno, Scarecrow Press, August 2010
The Hindu, India, April 26 2009
The Times of India, April 20 2009
Portfolio, Norfolk, VA, August 2008
COLLECTIONS
The White House, Washington, D C
Yuko Nii Foundation, New York, NY
Pzifer Corporate Collection
International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction, Pagosa Springs, CO
Ben Uri Art Society, London, England
LINKS and SOCIAL MEDIA
http://www.ellenaltcommunity.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ellen.alt.9
https://www.instagram.com/ellen_alt_artist
https://www.saatchiart.com/ellenralt
http://nyartistscircle.com/index.php/portfolio-3/
www.newyorksocietyofwomenartists.com/ellen-alt
AWARDS
Art Buzz Publication, Honorable Mention in Mixed Media. 2009
Ish-Shalom Foundation Grant, Israel, 1993
Alt’s Earth Elements series turns to the physical world, grounding environmental concerns in the materials of the planet itself. Across this body of work, she highlights the interconnectedness of Earth’s systems and our place within them. Through layered perspectives—moving from water and ice at the surface, to air and sky above, to precious metals and rare earth elements below—the series emphasizes both the beauty and complexity of the natural world.
Alt reflects also on our diminishing ability to communicate. While television test patterns may appear as relics, they trace the evolution of technology—from black and white to color, analog to digital, and internet to AI. Despite the proliferation of communication tools, the potential for shared understanding appears increasingly fragile.
Expanding on this idea, Alt’s work with television transmission treats the TV as an iconic object, recalling a time when shared media fostered greater cohesion and less divisive exchange. This series has expanded to include sculptural television forms arranged in playful, family-like configurations.
Together, these bodies of work draw a parallel between the fragility of the Earth and the erosion of our ability to communicate with one another. As natural systems face increasing instability, so too do the social and cultural systems that depend on connection and shared understanding—suggesting that environmental degradation and the breakdown of communication are deeply intertwined.
Ellen has also worked for decades on community-based art projects around the world to promote understanding. Through the process of painting murals and building concrete sculpture, people get to know each other while working collectively to bring about positive change to their neighborhoods. Alt has facilitated projects in India, the UK, the Middle East and throughout the USA. http://www.ellenaltcommunity.com/
The Climate Change work and her community-based projects are connected by the foundational idea that working together for change is empowered by the creative process. It has been her mission to pursue and share that process locally and globally.
Alt received an MA in studio art from New York University and a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2026
WITNESS TO CHANGE: Interpreting Climate Data, Climate Imaginarium, Governors Island, NY
COURTING CHALLENGES: Reflections on Progress, New York Society of Women Artists, Charles B. Sifton Gallery, Brooklyn Court House, Brooklyn, NY
DEMOCRACY: United We Stand, Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art, Philadelphia, PA
RE-UNION NEW YORK, WHITEBOX PORTABLE, Chashama, Port Authority, New York City, NY
WOMEN CELEBRATE WOMEN, El Barrio’s Artspace PS 109
WINDOWS ON ART https://www.youtube.com/@BSAG-TV/videos
BREATHE, New York Artist’s Circle, Westbeth Galllery, New York, NY
2025
UNDER THE SEA, UNESCO, \https://www.mokuartstudio.com/under-the-sea-1
SATELLITE COLLECTIVE, Telephone art game played with artists around the world
SEEING MUSIC, New York Artist’s Circle, Art at First, New York, NY
INTO THE NOW – THE TIME OF OUR LIVES: Centennial Exhibition of the New York Societyof Women Artists, CERES GALLERY, New York, NY, CATALOG
THE MEZUZAH MESSAGE, HELLER MUSEUM, New York, NY, CATALOG
SEEKING JOY, HELLER MUSEUM, New York, NY, CATALOG
TIKKUN OLAM: HEALING THE WORLD, Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art, Philadelphia, PA
REFLECTIONS ON PROGRESS, NYSWA, INTERCHURCH GALLERY, New York, NY
SCRIBBLES: THE ART OF EMERGING, ART AT FIRST, New York Artist’s Circle, New York, NY
FLOURISH, BLUE HILL ART AND CULTURAL CENTER, Pearl River, NY
SATELLITE COLLECTIVE, Telephone art game played with artists around the world
HELLER MUSEUM at HEBREW UNION COLLEGE, New York, NY: Seeking Joy
2024
DETRITUS/RECYCLE/FOUND OBJECTS, WAH (Williamsburg Art and Historical) CENTER, New York, NY
FADED SEA, New York Artist’s Circle, ART AT FIRST, New York, NY
WATERS, Grey Cube Gallery, on-line
READ, WRITE AND TRUE: DECLARATIONS OF CREATIVE INDEPENDENCE, NYSWA, Blue Mountain Gallery, New York, NY
DRAWING BEYOND THE SURFACE, LIC-A Art Space, Long Island City, NY
SPRING: CELEBRATION FOR THE EARTH, WAH CENTER, New York, NY
WOMEN CELEBRATE WOMEN, El Barrio’s Artspace PS 109
ALL TOGETHER NOW: INNOVATION THROUGH CREATION, NYSWA,, STEINBERG MUSEUM, Greenvale, NY
IMAGINARIUM, NY Artist’s Circle, ART AT FIRST, New York, NY
2023
HELLER MUSEUM at HEBREW UNION COLLEGE, New York, NY: Tzedek Box Pursuing Justice
BELSKIE MUSEUM OF ART AND SCIENCE, Closter, NJ, Hope Out of Darkness
QUEENS COLLEGE ART CENTER, Queens, NYNew York Society of Women Artists, 60 Together 100 Strong
WILLIAMSBURG ART AND HISTORICAL CENTER, New York, NY, 24th Annual Salon Show
2022
HOLY SPARKS, HELLER MUSEUM at HEBREW UNION COLLEGE, New York, NY, SKIRBALL MUSEUM, Cincinnati, OH, Catalog
CENTER FOR INTERFAITH COOPERATION, Indianapolis, IN, Holy Sparks CATALOG
NEW YORK ARTIST EQUITY ASSOCIATION GALLERY, Curatorial Residency Program Exhibition, New York, NY, Shifting Balance
EVOLUTION/REVOLTION, New York Society of Women Artists, TALLER BORICUA GALLERY, New York NY
CARTER BURDEN GALLERY, New York, NY, New York Artist’s Circle, Lost and Found
WILLIAMSBURG ART AND HISTORICAL CENTER, New York, NY, The Works Acquired in the Yuko Nii Foundation's Permanent Collection
2021
ANN STREET GALLERY, Newburgh, NY, Black Renaissance Festival
WILLIAMSBURG ART AND HISTORICAL CENTER, New York, NY, America the Beautiful and Togetherness and Oneness
BROOKLYN WATERFRONT ARTISTS COALITION, Brooklyn, NY Recycle and Art Over Time
DRAWING ROOMS, Jersey City, NJ, Rewriting Herstory: An Artsy International Exhibition Honoring Inspiring Women
FRAGILE EARTH, New York Artist’s Circle https://nyartistscircle.com/curated-shows/fragile-earth
SATELLITE COLLECTIVE, Telephone art game played with International artists, https://phonebook.gallery/, https://phonebook.gallery/artists/ellen-alt
2020 - 2018
LICHTUNDFIRE GALLERY, https://nyartistscircle.com/curated-shows/fragile-earth, A Sense of Ice
CHASHAMA: Space for Artists – SOLO SHOW, New York, NYSAVE THE EARTH, Art at First, New York, New York
BELSKIE MUSEUM OF ART AND SCIENCE, Closter, NJ, Freedom: An Artistic Expression
FEMALE GENDER IDENTITY & EQUALITY, New York Society of Women Artists, Brother Kenneth Chapman Gallery, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY
LIC ARTS OPEN GALLERY @ THE FACTORY LIC, curated by Grace Lerner, I Dream in Blue and Green
DELAWARE VALLEY ARTS ALLIANCE, For What it is Worth, Narrowsburg, NY
2017 - 2013
KRAFT CENTER, SOLO SHOW, Columbia/Barnard University, New York, NY
DREITZER GALLERY, SOLO SHOW, Brandeis University, Boston, MA
GALLERY AT MAYYIM HAYYIM, TWO-PERSON SHOW, Newton, MA
GEORGE BILLIS GALLERY, New York Society of Women Artists, New York, NY, The Primacy of Color
QUADRATFUSS, catalog, Annex Art, Berlin, Germany
HUMAN IMPACTS INSTITUTE, New York, NY, Climate Change Awards
RUSH ART GALLERY, New York, NY, Curate NYC
WESTBETH GALLERY, New York, NY, Ecology: The Difference Perception Makes
ART FAIRS
ASIA CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR http://www.asiacontemporaryart.com/artists/artist/Ellen_Alt/en/
Hong Kong, China, March 2018
FOUNTAIN ART FAIR, HULLABALLOO COLLECTIVE
New York, NY, Mar. 2012, Mar. 2013, Mar 2014
Paul Seftel Project Space, New York, NY, Aug. 2012
ARTICLES
Artsy Shark https://www.artsyshark.com/2020/03/04/artists-on-climate-change/, March 2020
Interalia http://www.interaliamag.org/interviews/ellen-alt/, EARTH, Issue 32, April 2017
Art New England http://artnewengland.com/ed_picks/aesthetics-of-disaster/, March/April 2017
Hadassah https://www.hadassahmagazine.org/2022/05/17/upcycling-a-bat-mitzvah-dvar-torah/
PRESS
Art Daily, Dec 8, 2018 http://artdaily.com/news/109749/Lichtundfire-opens-an-exhibition-by-eight-artists-whose-work-represents-ice#.XDoD7FxKjIU
Times Herald-record, MARCH 23, 2018 http://www.recordonline.com/entertainmentlife/20180322/climate-change-artistic-theme-in-two-big-exhibits
The Jewish Press: A Jewish Art Salon Exhibit, November 2010
Jewish Artists / Signatures & Monograms / International, John Castagno, Scarecrow Press, August 2010
The Hindu, India, April 26 2009
The Times of India, April 20 2009
Portfolio, Norfolk, VA, August 2008
COLLECTIONS
The White House, Washington, D C
Yuko Nii Foundation, New York, NY
Pzifer Corporate Collection
International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction, Pagosa Springs, CO
Ben Uri Art Society, London, England
LINKS and SOCIAL MEDIA
http://www.ellenaltcommunity.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ellen.alt.9
https://www.instagram.com/ellen_alt_artist
https://www.saatchiart.com/ellenralt
http://nyartistscircle.com/index.php/portfolio-3/
www.newyorksocietyofwomenartists.com/ellen-alt
AWARDS
Art Buzz Publication, Honorable Mention in Mixed Media. 2009
Ish-Shalom Foundation Grant, Israel, 1993
