Paul Elledge

(b.1959; resides Chicago, IL)

There are dreamlike qualities of this work, rich liquid colors, floating spaces, mysterious places and a variety of subjects. However, these are not illustrated dreams of sleeping moments. These are images that come to my mind in the waking hours. - Paul Elledge

This portfolio by Paul Elledge features nudes in stylized settings. The pale tones of their skin stand out starkly against vivid green, intense blue, or deep red backgrounds. The photographs almost always picture the subjects facing the camera, often with a direct gaze that confronts the camera. Yet the frank frontality is repeatedly obscured, whether by shallow focus, the blur of motion, or props ranging from beaded curtains to textured glass to strings of lights.

With clients like Warner Bros. Records and Leo Burnett USA, and solo exhibitions at a variety of galleries across Chicago, Paul Elledge is involved in many photographic projects. He has been a frequent instructor for the Toscana Photographic Workshop and the Santa Fe Workshop, and a recurrent AMP/Kodak Lecture speaker. Periodicals ranging from Time to AudubontoWiredhave published his work and his latest book is Back to the Table(2001). Elledge lives and works in Chicago.

Past Portfolio

Life in these pictures is slower, more patient and careful, intimately connected with age-old patterns and traditions. In that sense, I hope these pictures honestly capture the character of people who shamelessly uphold the old virtues … the notions of integrity and heroism that seems so hard to find in our own culture. – Paul Elledge

Although well-known for his numerous fashion and advertising photographs, Paul Elledge’s series based on a small Italian village has a much softer, simpler tone. Taken in Vesale, Italy, the photographs embody a vanishing serenity and the traditional values of simplicity, heroism, and integrity. Elledge followed the same family for twelve years, watching as the modern world took its toll upon these values.

Elledge received his BA from Southern Illinois University, where he studied Cinema and Photography. His photographs have appeared in “Luna Bella Luna,” a collection of his works from Vesale, and “Charlie Trotter’s Desserts.” His work has appeared in People, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, and Life Magazine. In addition, he has had recent exhibitions at the Eastwick Art Gallery and the Oskar Friedal Gallery, both in Chicago. He has also directed several music videos.