Spark Artist

Painting, textiles & ceramics

Ellen Lesperance is an American artist, writer and educator whose work explores the intersection of feminism, craft and activism. They are represented by Derek Eller Gallery, New York, and Hollybush Gardens, London. Their work has been exhibited widely and is included in the permanent collections of MOCA Los Angeles, the Walker Art Center, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among others. Lesperance was a 2022–23 Fulbright Global Scholar and was awarded a fellowship to expand their two-decades-long research into the knitwear created by female peace activists in direct confrontation to late twentieth-century U.S. military encampments and nuclear holdings worldwide. They are the author of three books: Peace Camps (2017), Velvet Fist (2020) and 100 Men or More (2027). They are an assistant professor at the University of Oregon in Eugene.