Meet Ellen

Ellen Friedlander is a lens-based artist bridging urban landscapes and intimate portraits. Using a range of in-camera and post-processing collage, she builds photographs that are layered, expressive, and psychologically resonant.

Raised in New York’s Adirondack Mountains and later shaped by years living in multiple U.S. cities, Friedlander developed a sensitivity to space, intimacy, and quiet observation. She went on to spend more than a decade raising her family in Hong Kong, a city that profoundly influenced her street photography and established her professional technical repertoire.

Friedlander has exhibited in numerous galleries across the United States and Internationally, notably showing with L’étrangère Gallery in London, and “LA Sees Itself” a curated exhibition by Carl Berg at Biola University. In 2025, Friedlander exhibited “The Soul Speaks” at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History. In addition to her art practice, Friedlander has been a guest lecturer with the International Photography Hall of Fame, is a Kipaipai fellow, Co-Director of Pasadena Photography Arts, a mentor for ASMP’s The Bridge Program and Executive Producer of “The Crit House Podcast.”

Photograph by Tony Pinto

For the past five years, I have been working/collaborating with my daughter, Alexi. She has gravitated towards art since the moment she could hold a pencil. Now as an adult, it is a joy to have this special time in our lives to work together, make art and live out our dreams.