Classically trained realist painter Elise Zoller’s background in architecture lends itself to captivating vignettes of American life. From New England to the Southwest, Zoller’s depictions of the everyday relish in moments in stillness. An architectural student and graduate of Princeton University, the artist also studied drawing and painting at the Academy of Realist Art in Boston and Masters Academy in Springville, Utah. Chronicling scenes of rural American life, Zoller brings her signature atmospheric brushwork from coast to coast.
Zoller’s training in architecture is not lost in her work. Churches, New England farmhouses, gas stations, and more anchor many of her pieces. Using oil paint, Zoller’s paintings exude an evocative warmth and wistfulness for bucolic settings. With a particular focus on simultaneously capturing the past and the present, Zoller chooses unassuming subjects––a poorly lit doorway, an intersection at dusk, a shady porch. The artist’s portfolio highlights the similarity of rural towns while maintaining regional differences and identity. Poignant depictions of town centers, cemeteries and liquor stores radiate nostalgia for a fading American landscape.
In 2018 and 2019, Zoller traveled abroad as an artist in residence to Belgium, France, Holland, Russia and the Caribbean. Scenes from Moscow’s North Port, the lush oceanside of St. Lucia, and cottages in Giverny add a new dimension to the oil painter’s portfolio. Zoller has spent time on North Haven, capturing scenes of island homes and businesses. She also works in pen and ink illustrations, portraits and custom commission projects.
Zoller’s paintings can be found in shows across New England and in the Southwest. Zoller has received honorable mentions at the International Art Renewal Salon in 2016 for her work in the landscape and plein air categories. In 2018, she received an honorary mention in Southwest Art Magazine’s Artistic Excellence Contest.