Artist Ethel Hultberg aka E. Sky

Aspects of my work seem disparate. A landscape appears abstract. From space we see the patterning of our planet, color, texture, light and shadow juxtaposed. Coastlines, currents, meanders, islands – shapes of reality flashing abstractly.

Anamorphic – Visually, islands become butterflies, ambiguous figures, other realities. A buffalo behind barbed wire in a painting dappled with light, seems captive, perhaps protected, but not restored.

Movement and gestures are the nervous system made visual, which the personal process called painting transforms.

I started seriously playing piano in my teens, studying at Julliard and wanting to be a composer.

Growing up in the New York City “art world”, my friends were mostly musicians, dancers, writers, theater people, and painters. I married and had four children. We were very much part of the avante garde community and our life today reflects that experience aesthetically, socially and politically.

For many years I hosted a daily public affairs radio talk show, taught at Parson’s and the New School for Social Research, all in Manhattan. I was also co-owner and director of Artworks, a gallery and lively community resource that I ran for many years with my husband on the property where we lived in Pomona, NY.

Fortunately, for the most part, I’ve been able to choose my work, pursue my own interests and still play the piano. I spend much of my time painting these days where I currently live with my husband in a lovely small village in the South of France.