Ellen Cornett earned a BA in Studio Art from the University of Maryland in College Park where she studied printmaking with Tadeusz Lapinski and James Forbes. She worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for more than 25 years.
Since starting to exhibit in 2007, Cornett has shown regionally and nationally with solo exhibitions of her work presented at galleries which include Brentwood Arts Exchange (Brentwood, MD), Greater Reston Arts Center (Reston, VA), Marymount University (Arlington, VA), Fisher Art Gallery at Northern Virginia Community College (Alexandria, VA), and Montpelier Arts Center (Laurel, MD). Her work has been selected for numerous curated and juried group exhibitions presented at galleries which include Touchstone Gallery (Washington, DC), Harmony Hall (Fort Washington, MD), Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery (Washington, DC), The Nave Gallery (Somerville, MA), Gallery O on H (Washington, DC), Maryland Federation of Art (Annapolis, MD), and FeGallery (Sacramento, CA). Cornett’s work has received merit awards in juried competitions and is included in both private and public collections, including the Montgomery County Public Art Trust. She has been awarded a DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) Project Purchase Award (2007) and the Prince George’s County Purchase Award (2012 and 2017).
In 2019, the Hirshhorn Museum selected Cornett to participate in the interactive exhibition Rirkrit Tiravanija: (who’s afraid of red, yellow, and green) where she, along with 14 other artists, drew on the walls of the museum to create murals depicting protest, rebellion, and repression.
She began teaching drawing and painting at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop in Washington, DC in 2002 where she has served as Visual Arts Department Chair since 2015.
Exhibitions
2021
Animal Crackers, The Hill Center Gallery, Washington, DC
The Power of Patience, Black Rock Center for the Arts Kay Gallery, Gaithersburg, MD
Once Upon a Time, Virtual exhibit, The Hill Center, Washington, DC
2020
Virtual exhibit, Black Rock Center for the Arts, Gaithersburg, MD
2019
Superfine!, Union Market Washington, DC
Solo show, First Stage, Fairfax, VA
Reflections of Self, Montpelier Arts Center, Laurel, MD
2018
Seeking Prince George's County, Lowe House Office Building, Annapolis, MD
Drawings, Solo Show, Frame of Mine Gallery, Washington, DC
Women by Women, The Corner Store, Washington, DC
Black and White, Frame of Mine Gallery, Washington, DC
Bring It! Lowe House Office Building, Annapolis, MD
Art on Paper, National Juried Exhibition, Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, MD
Focus Exhibit, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD
2017
One House Project, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC
Story Fragments, Solo show, Artists and Makers Studios, Rockville, MD
Drawings, Solo show, Marymount University, Arlington, VA
Drawings, Solo show, United Universalist Church of Rockville, Rockville, MD
Drawings, Solo show, Montpelier Arts Center, Laurel, MD
Artomatic, Arlington, VA
Alchemical Vessels 2017, Invitational show, Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Center, Washington, DC
2016
Emulsion 2016, Juried show, Emulsion, Gallery Oh, Washington, DC
Artomatic, Potomac, MD
Alchemical Vessels 2016, Invitational show, Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Center, Washington, DC
2015
Artomatic, New Carrollton, MD
Art of the Tale, Solo show, Brentwood Arts Exchange, Brentwood, MD
2014
Five Make Art, Harmony Hall Regional Center, Fort Washington, MD
2013
MONSTERS! Solo show, Evolve Urban Arts Project, Washington, DC
2012
Fact from Fiction, Solo show, Corner Store Arts, Washington, DC
Under the Influence, Juried show, Harmony Hall Regional Center, Fort Washington, MD
Artomatic, Arlington, VA
Art Libs, Juried show, Harmony Hall Regional Center, Fort Washington, MD
2011
Animal Tales and Other Mischief, Solo show, Harmony Hall Regional Center, Fort Washington, MD
Menagerie: A Focus Exhibition, Solo show, Greater Reston Art Center, Reston, VA
2010
Night Goat and Other Flights of Fancy, Solo show, City Gallery, Washington, DC
Artomatic, Washington, DC
Juxtapositions, Solo show, Studio H Gallery, Washington, DC
2009
Retold Tales, Solo show, Learning Gallery Wayne K. Curry Sports & Learning Complex, Landover, MD
Tales, Solo show, Corner Store Arts, Washington, DC
Illuminated Tales, Solo show, Margaret W. & Joseph L. Fisher Art Gallery, Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria, VA
2008
Re-Imagined Tales, Solo show, Capitol Hill Art & Frame, Washington, DC
Exhibition, Purchase Awards and Honors
From 2001-2009 I received more than two-dozen merit and honorable mention awards in juried exhibitions at the Capitol Hill Art League and the Alexandria Art League. I have exhibited in juried exhibitions in regional juried shows. Following are additional individual awards.
2021 Recipient of Maryland State Arts Commission Individual Artist Award
2019 Member of a team of artists invited to create a charcoal mural at the Hirshhorn Museum in Rirkrit Tiravanija's exhibit, "Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Green"
2019 Montgomery County Public Art Trust purchase of two drawings for their permanent collection
2017 Induction into the Albert Einstein High School Arts Hall of Fame
2017 Prince George's County Artomatic Purchase Award
2014 Project America’s Next Top Master Artist Award of cash and exhibit
2012 Prince George’s County Artomatic Purchase Award
2008 Laurel Art League “39th Annual Regional Show” Merit Award
2008 Alexandria Art League “>100” Artists Ruth Greges Best in Show Award
2007 DCCAH Eastern Market Window Project Purchase Award
Art Education, Work and Volunteer Experience
2016 to present: CHAW Gallery Residency manager1973: BA in Studio Art, University of Maryland
2015 to present: Visual Arts Department chair, Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, Washington, DC
2009: Pastel instructor, MNCPPC Gwendolyn Britt Senior Center, Brentwood, MD
2005-2007: Chair of the Capitol Hill Art League Steering Committee
2003-2008: Member of the Capitol Hill Art League Steering Committee
2002 to present: Drawing and painting instructor, Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, Washington, DC
1973 to 2019: Illustrator and graphic designer