Jackie Ellens’ Global Electric II

A vertical watercolor on paper, shadowboxed beneath a gold leaf finish that lends the composition an almost ceremonial warmth, Jackie Ellens' Global Electric II carries the quiet authority of work that has been considered from every angle. The narrow proportions — thirty-one inches tall against sixteen wide — give it the presence of an architectural element as much as a framed piece, commanding a wall the way a well-placed column commands a room. It is the kind of art that rewards a singular placement: above a console, between two sconces, where the gold surround can catch and return the light.