American artist and designer Elyse Graham was born in Los Angeles in 1981. She studied art and semiotics at Brown University in Providence, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in 2003. A year later, Graham launched a handmade jewelry line called Elephant Heart, and soon after, was offered an artist residency at the Dirt Palace art space in Providence, Rhode Island. In 2014, she established her eponymous homewares studio in L.A.’s Lincoln Heights neighborhood.
Graham’s work is characterized by a sense of play and experimentation that spans material and techniques. Her work frequently incorporates layered colors and resin, and attempts to find new uses for common materials. Notable projects to date include: Geodes (2012), brightly colored objets d’art composed of layered latex and urethane and inspired by Graham’s respect for nature’s beauty; and Drip (2014), a series of vessels, mirrors, and trays made by coating objects’ interiors with colored, fast-setting resin; instead of sealing the resin inside, Graham lets it drip out of or layer on top of each piece, achieving a stalactite effect on the final objects’ edges that appears like water, frozen in time.
Graham has exhibited in multiple group and solo shows, including, but not limited to: GREY AREA at Collective Design Fair and Hole Gallery (New York, 2013), Istanbul ’74 (Karakoy, Turkey, 2013), and Bass Museum of Art (Miami, 2012); Inside Out at Fifth Floor Gallery (L.A., 2012); and Sight Unseen at the Standard Hotel (New York, 2012).
Graham received back-to-back awards as an exhibitor at the NY Now Show (Accent on Design—Rising Star Award, August 2014 and Best Collection, February 2015).
