Elena Unger

About

 
 

Elena Unger grew up in Vancouver, Canada and moved to London in 2015 to study art. Unger is an alumnus of Fine Art at both Central Saint Martins and Goldsmiths, as well as a graduate of philosophy at the University of Cambridge. As both an artist and an academic, her art practice and academic work mutually inform one another. As an artist, she combines painting, sculpture, performance, sound, film, and installation to produce immersive, extra-liturgical installations. As an academic, she is concerned with the ontology of artistic making, arguing that works of art do not merely represent the ineffable but participate in it.       

     Unger was a CHASE Research Fellow at Goldsmiths in Philosophy and Art, where she curated an exhibition of film and performance. Unger is Artist in Residence at Saint Bartholomew the Great, London’s oldest Church, where she had a solo show in 2018, and curated an exhibition in 2023 entitled Eleven Twenty Three. Unger’s work was recently featured in the December issue of British Vogue. Unger was also featured in an art history book about Saint Bartholomew the Great by Charlotte Gauthier. Unger frequently exhibits in the UK and Canada and is featured in collections internationally. 

Education

 

·      University of Law, Graduate Law Conversion (2020-2021)

·      University of Cambridge, Philosophical Theology, MPhil (2019-2020)

·      Goldsmiths, University of London, Fine Art BA Hons (2016-2019)

·      Central Saint Martins Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (painting), (2015-2016)

 

 

Selected Exhibitions and Residencies

  ·      Slipping the Veil, group show in collaboration with James Freeman Gallery, at Great St Bart’s, 2025 (upcoming)

·      Dubel Prize at the Royal Exchange, 2023

·      Eleven Twenty Three, Saint Bartholomew the Great, 20 artist group show curated by Elena Unger and Heidi Pearce. April- May 2023

·      20 x 20 Vision, Citizens Art London – 2023

·      Artist in Residence at Saint Bartholomew the Great – 2023

·      Saatchi Gallery w/ StART Art - by invitation – 2022

·      The Sun is Out - Safehouse Gallery group show – 2022

·      SET Studios Summer Showcase – 2022

·      Theology and Art film exhibition, Goldsmiths University – 2020

·      Research fellowship in religion and art at Goldsmiths – 2019-2020

·      Invisible Church, Saint James Hatcham - 2019

·      Fragment – Joint Show with Sophie Sleigh- Johnson, Saint Bartholomew the Great – 2018

 

 

Selected Press and Publications

 

·      British Vogue December Issue - Vogue Gallery Feature

·      FAD Magazine’s Top 5 Exhibitions to See in Early May, Tabish Khan https://fadmagazine.com/2023/04/29/the-top-5-art-exhibitions-to-see-in-london-in-early-may-2/

·      Church Times, Art Review: Eleven Twenty Three in St Bartholomew the Great, Jonathan Evans, https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2023/28-april/books-arts/visual-arts/art-review-eleven-twenty-three-in-st-bartholomew-the-great

·      London Art Roundup Issue 61, Review of Eleven Twenty Three https://www.londonartroundup.com/reviews/london-art-roundup-2023-issue-61

·      Artist’s Love Letter to Great St Barts Commemorates 900th Anniversary https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/news/artists-love-letter-to-great-st-barts-commemorates-900th-anniversary/

·      https://sebsartlist.com/events/large-group-show-curated-by-elena-unger-heidi-pearce-eleven-twenty-three

·      900 Years of Saint Bartholomew the Great; The History, art, and Architecture of London’s Oldest Church - (History Book) Ed Charlotte Gauthier

·      The Teleology of the Sublime for MASS Press, 2018

·      CVLT press, Freezing Moon; The Paintings of Elena Unger , 2015

 

 

Awards and Funding

  ·      The Dubel Emerging Artist of the Year Award Finalist, 2023

·      Painter- Stainers sponsorship/ funding award for Eleven Twenty Three exhibition

·      Culture Mile BID sponsorship/ funding award for Eleven Twenty Three exhibition

·      Mackenzie Art Award, 2023

·      CHASE and MARS Junior Research Fellowship and funding for Religion and Art Symposium

·      Emmanuel College Cambridge MPhil studentship, 2019