Public reception at City Hall celebrates the work of fine artist Ella Putney Carlson

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MANCHESTER, NH – An artists’ reception to celebrate the innovative work of fine artist Ella Putney Carlson will be held March 16 at City Hall, from 5-7 p.m.

Carlson is April’s featured artist as part of “Art on the Wall @ City Hall,” series. 

Manchester Art Commission (M|A|C) is proud to highlight this beautiful exhibition, which is free and open to the public, kicking off with the reception at City Hall on Thursday. This exhibit is made possible through the courteous sponsorship of Hunt’s Photo & Video. Live music will be provided courtesy of Manchester Music Mill, and Matbah Mediterranean Cuisine has generously donated snacks and beverages. All are invited to attend this family-oriented celebration.


Ella Carlson has 36 original art works on display within City Hall, themed “Reconsiderations.” This new body of work explores the very meaning of seeing, of looking at something seemingly ordinary and finding a whole new world within its fabric. Her work challenges the onlooker to find its source, all the while being taken on a journey of wonders. 

All work displayed by Ella will be available for purchase, with a 10 percent contribution of all sales by the artist to the Manchester Arts Fund to help support MAC’s vision for building a diverse community in Manchester through arts and culture.

In addition, M|A|C has placed four pieces of Ella’s work throughout Manchester to promote the exhibit – in what M|A|C chairman Daniel Bérubé describes as “cross pollination.”  

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Alex Horton, owner of Cafe la Reine, shows off one of Ella Carlson’s works, on display at her cafe on Elm Street.

“Discovering art work not only in a gallery setting but also through local businesses supportive of our City’s diverse arts and culture allows Manchester residents and visitors to experience original art where they do business. It piques interest and invites all to see the whole exhibit at City Hall. We’re thrilled to have placed examples of Ella’s art work at Hunt’s Photo & Video on Vinton Street, Palace Theater on Hanover Street, the Millyard Museum on Bedford Street and Café La Reine on Elm Street,” says Bérubé. “We’re honored by our fellow arts-friendly businesses for continued opportunities that allow residents to experience Manchester’s growing art scene and to learn more and get involved with Manchester Arts Commission’s outreach.”

RottedPepper 6Carlson’s work “Reconsiderations” takes the viewer on a journey from all the possibilities of what one can find in a pot of tea to the fantastic depiction of taking an in-depth look at flowers. In her work about tea, Carslon invites you to leap into the world of colorful, strange and otherworldly orbs all created from images of tea, inviting the viewer to dive into a hidden world of mystic landscapes and alien creatures. While with her altered photographs of flowers, Ella demands stillness, allowing the viewer to imagine a flower from its peak of their beauty to near decay.

Her diverse body of work is marked by painstaking accumulation of seeking patterns, digital surgery, exploration and her hand-painted touch to allow her work to glow from within. In “Reconsiderations,” Carlson has chosen to photograph everyday objects, a pot of tea and flowers.

Images are then digitally disassembled, and the artist reassembles them, and then enhances or distorts the imagery. In the process, she investigates hundreds if not thousands of ways in which each of these objects can be manipulated and, therefore, “reconsidered.” 

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“In a world at break-neck speed, it is imperative to occasionally slow down and appreciate the importance of deeper considerations, and to challenge the idea of rigid definitions,…of absolute truths,” says Carlson. “A tea pot becomes a new world, or a strange creature. A rose glows from within, or becomes an exaggeration of itself.”

Ella Putney Carlson grew up in Massachusetts, and began taking photographs at the age of 7 after her older sister gave her a used box camera. She worked as a photojournalist, a studio photographer, and continues to work as a Fine Art Photographer and Educator. Carlson has a MFA from the New Hampshire Institute of Art and has earned professional photography degrees including Master Photographer, Master Artist, and Educational Associate. She has won numerous awards including top photographer awards in two states, as well as Imaging Excellence awards from Professional Photographers of America, Kodiak Gallery Awards and Fuji Masterpiece Awards.


Her work has been exhibited widely, including the Danforth Museum, DeCordova Museum, the WREN gallery, Artistree Community Arts Center and Gallery, Vermont Center for Photography, Arts League of Lowell, MA, the New Hampshire Institute of Art, Cove Gallery, Gloucester, MA, the Professional Photographers of America International Exhibitions and the American Society of Photographers. Her work has also been published in several editions of the professional Photographers of America Loan Book, PPA Showcase Book, and professional Photographers Magazine. Her book on Fine Art Photoshop will be published in 2017. Carlson also teaches photographic imaging at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

For more information on the artist, please feel free to contact Ella Putney Carlson at ella@ellaprints.com or visit her website at http://www.ellaprints.com.


The Manchester Arts Commission (MAC) is dedicated to promoting art of all forms within the City of Manchester, NH. Working closely with our City’s Economic Development Office, Planning Board, Parks and Recreation Department, and Intown Manchester, MAC coordinates the display of local artist’s works through its “Art on the Wall @ City Hall” program; the National Arts Program Exhibit in July/August showcasing art work from City of Manchester employees and their immediate family members, and as a partner in “Manchester Trolley Nights: Exploring Art and Culture.” MAC works with like-minded companies, organizations, educational institutions and individuals to commission public sculpture and public art to elevate appreciation of Manchester’s growing arts community – while directly adding to the economic impact within Manchester to the highest degree. Click here to learn more about M|A|C  or follow M|A|C on Facebook and Twitter @manchesterarts and on Instagram @manchesterartscommission.

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About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!