The Seven Beggars: By Way of Possibility

The Seven Beggars: By Way of Possibility features the work of Jeffrey Ellse with a series of paintings made in response to an 18th-century Hasidic tale by Rebbe Nachman. The story follows the journey of a future king and two young children who encounter seven beggars, each offering a transformative lesson.

Ellse’s paintings work with an abstract visual language of meticulously rendered graphite bands overlaid with colorful graphic shapes, soft gradient fields, and three dimensional forms. Rather than illustrating the tale literally, he mirrors the openness of the story which itself resists logic, clear categorization, and any purely reductionist reading. 

Having created a body of work in response to a story that has deeply moved him as both an individual and as an artist, this exhibition invites viewers into a visual encounter where art, text, and community enrich one another.