About

Biography

Richelle Ellis is an expeditionary artist, curator, and analog astronaut. Her art and research aims to use space to help life on Earth, to see the world – and ourselves – in new ways. Richelle creates artworks made for international orbit, etched on satellites, suspended by Stratollite balloons and aboard rockets. Her work spans exhibitions from the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, with recent artworks on the surface of the Moon.

As Head of Creative Research for analog space missions via Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS), Sensoria Program, Lunares Research Station, and Astroland Interplanetary Agency, Ellis examines creativity beyond our world. Richelle’s artistic ventures have taken her to glaciers near the North Pole to parabolic flights in zero gravity, into the Biosphere 2 and Analog Mars Missions with NASA Goddard, earning her accolades and residencies at renowned institutions such as Planet, Google Quantum AI, Relativity and the Karman Project.

Richelle is the Founding Director of Supercollider, which brings together leading artists, scientists, and the public to celebrate the future and reframe the challenges facing our world. She is also the Co-Founder and Director of Space Programs for Beyond Earth, an all-female international transdisciplinary artist collective exploring the frontiers of art, space, and biology through space-bound artworks. Most recently, she is Co-founder of Inploration, a non-profit art and space initiative to deepen community appreciation for our planet by fostering new perspectives.

Contact

CV

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Other Activities

Artist Statement

I explore life at all levels of living systems—organisms, social structures, ecosystems, and planetary systems—to illuminate the interdependence and complexity that bind them. My work examines neural-like networks of connectivity, revealing intricate, interwoven patterns that span disciplines and scales. By visually interpreting these structural relationships, I create narratives that integrate the biological, social, and technological systems that shape our shared existence on Earth.

My artistic practice has evolved from comparative studies of networks—such as molecular structures, neural pathways, social systems, and urban infrastructure—to an in-depth exploration of their dynamic interactions. This journey has deepened my inquiry into how connectivity influences life, examining both its constructive potential and the challenges it presents to our collective future. Through this lens, my work seeks to inspire reflection on the transformative power of interconnectedness in shaping humanity and the planet.

 

Selected Press