Ellen Priest, “Make a Joyful Noise”

Yale Divinity School will host a reception and artist’s talk on Tuesday, Nov. 8, for an exhibition of jazz-infused abstract paintings by Ellen Priest ’77 M.Div.
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The exhibition, titled “Jazz Cubano: Color Improvisations,” will run from Oct. 21 through Jan. 25 in the Divinity School’s Sarah Smith Gallery.
The reception will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the gallery and Old Common Room, with remarks by the artist, titled “Make a Joyful Noise,” to begin at 6:15. Wine, soft drinks, and hors d’oeuvres will be served provided there are no unanticipated changes in university COVID safety protocols.
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Off-campus visitors are welcome to join the YDS and Yale community but are required to register in advance, bring proof they are vaccinated and boosted, and follow Yale University mask guidance (https://ehs.yale.edu/masks) and all other University health and safety guidelines (https://covid19.yale.edu/health-guidelines). Register here: https://divinity.yale.edu/ellen-priest-reception-and-artist-talk-registr…
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A former licensed Presbyterian minister, Ellen Priest is an acclaimed abstract painter whose work explores the textures of jazz music. Priest says of her paintings: “The movement and space in Afro-Cuban jazz has long fascinated me, especially the percussion. In my ‘Jazz Cubano’ series I take those complex rhythms and melodies apart to reconstruct them visually.” In her artist’s talk at YDS, she will explore the theological and spiritual dimensions of the paintings as well her studio process and her use of jazz in her artwork.
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At YDS, Priest both trained for the ministry and completed a dual-focus program in Christianity and the Visual Arts, mentored by soon-to-be ISM Director John Cook. . She has exhibited her work, among other venues, at Saint Peter’s Church in New York City, The Delaware Contemporary in Wilmington, Del., and the Phillip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. . She is also the creator and director of “Eyeball It,” a youth arts education project.