Biography

Eleanor Kotlarik Wang is a visual artist based in Virginia. She was born in Pittsburgh and then spent her early childhood in her father’s homeland near Trencin, Slovakia. At age five the family relocated to her mother’s family base in Chicago. Lifelong interests in art, folklore, textiles, dance, and teaching were developed during those formative years in the city, and continue to influence her current life and works. Since 2009, Eleanor has been a docent at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. working with students from K -12. Eleanor Wang’s paintings have appeared in various juried and solo exhibits and are in private and corporate collections in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Artist Statement

I believe that everything in the universe is endowed with a spirit or energy. As an artist, I try to capture the essence of this spirit in images. I observe and sense and then react to my subject and my own mark-making. I am intuitive in this approach to capture the subject. I also think of my works as rhythmic explorations using gestural lines interwoven with the paint surface to create a sense of immediacy and depth in the developing image.

Education

  • Red Gate Gallery Art Residency Program, Beijing, China.

  • Corcoran School of Art, Washington, D.C.

  • Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT.

  • Art League School, Alexandria, VA.

  • Meramec College, St. Louis, MO.

  • Mira Costa College, Oceanside, CA.

  • L’Institut Catholique, Paris, France

  • B.S., Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL.

Solo Exhibits (Selected)

  • Almost Forgotten, Studio Gallery , Washington, DC 2023

  • Ribbon of Stretch, Studio Gallery , Washington, DC 2020

  • Explorations and Meanderings, Studio Gallery, Washington DC 2017

  • In the Flow, Studio Gallery, 2016

  • Earth, Sea and Sky, Studio Gallery 2015

  • Floating Worlds, Studio Gallery DC 2014

  • Sky Mind Studio Gallery DC 2012

  • Chaotic Harmony, Studio Gallery, DC 2010

  • Passages, Planb Gallery, Washington DC 2009

  • Harvest Songs, Studio Gallery , Washington, DC 2006

  • Vykrucaj, Slovak Embassy, Washington, DC 2005

  • National Institute of Health, Washington, DC 2003

  • Connections, The Art League Gallery, Alexandria, Va. 2002

  • Rhythm for the Ages, Studio Gallery, Washington DC 2001

Juried Exhibits

  • Perspectives of Peace, The Stimson Center, DC. 2023

  • Our Common Threads, Joan Hisaoka Gallery, Washington DC, 2017

  • Chefs,  Strathmore Mansion, Rockville, Md.  2016

  • 10 by 10, Planb Gallery, DC, 2015

  • Art In Embassies Program, U.S. State Dept., Hong Kong 2003-2005

  • Journeys from Home,  U.S.  State Dept , Eastern Europe Regional Section

  • Journeys from Home, Gallery Planb, Washington, DC

  • And who is my Neighbor, Washington Theological Union  2001

  • Reflections on the Desert, Washington Theological Union” 2002

  • Behold the New Humanity, Georgetown, University 2000

  • Images for Healing, A Corcoran Alumni Exhibit at NIH, Washington DC 2000

Review

  • 2017 Jenkins, Mark. Washington Post, In the Flow, April 23, 2016

  • 2002 Williams, David.  Endowed with Spirit.  Elan, May 2002

Outreach

  • Docent at the National Gallery of Art. 2009 to current

  • Studio Gallery Summer student Art Program. 2021-2023

  • In collaboration with Studio Gallery and the Living Classroom Foundation, I developed and implemented several summer art workshops for a group of middle school students, The Queen Beez. Projects focusing on the elements of art were referenced with identity themes. 2014-2016

  • Bethel – During my time in China, I developed an arts program for visually impaired orphans that both matched and stretched the children’s understanding of beauty and the creative process. 2005 – 08