A Curated Art Experience at Ello House

Natalie Papier

Natalie Papier of famed design studio Home Ec. was called upon to curate our art collection. Home Ec. has deep artist relationships in Charlotte and around the world from which she drew upon to enrich and inspire while complementing and enhancing Ello’s architectural and interior design.   Home Ec. is a multifaceted Chicago-born and now Charlotte-based design studio that spans commercial art curation, product design (Mitzi lighting and Mitchell Black wallpaper collections), interior design (Papier is the interior designer on Magnolia Network’s Artfully Designed on HBO), and book author (Papier & Sisco, Home Is Where the Art Is, Voracious, 2024).

Jules Lupacchino “Julu”

Juliana Lupacchino “Julu” is a fine artist, and color is her medium. Her practice focuses on the way colors communicate with each other and how they affect us—a celebration of beauty, color, movement, and human emotion. Murals and paintings are the primary vehicles through which she explores these themes. Her works are colorful, abstract, organic, and adventurous. Julu is a native of Savannah, Georgia. She graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2017, with a degree in Fibers. During her time at SCAD, she explored both pattern development and material exploration through large-scale installation work. After graduating, she no longer had access to nice equipment and computers, so she started painting with her fingers. She loved working hands-on with the medium and believes that there is a sense of freedom when you leave the brush behind. Whatever she is creating, Julu’s works are intended to stimulate joyful feelings for the audience. Joy is a key element of all her work, which she expresses through color, shape, and scale. She has also lent creative assistance to brands including Howler Brothers.

Ivan Depeña

Ivan Toth Depeña is a Hispanic-American artist currently based in Charlotte, NC, after having lived and worked in Miami, FL and New York, NY. With a Master’s Degree in Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, Depeña’s artistic production is informed by his experience in art, architecture, technology and design, and encompasses a range of media. Depeña has been working increasingly in the public realm and maintains a rigorous, self-directed studio practice. He has exhibited extensively, nationally and internationally, in both solo and group exhibitions, including at the McColl Center, NC; Praxis NY, NYC; New Britain Museum of American Art, CT; Miami Art Museum, Frost Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami. Depeña has recently completed large-scale public commissions in New York, NY; Denver, CO; Albuquerque, NM; Gainesville, and Miami, FL. His work is held in numerous public and private collections. Ivan has won Public Art of the Year for various projects from Americans for the Arts and the Public Art Network. In early 2014, he was awarded a prestigious Knight Arts Challenge Miami Grant for his proposal for a first-of-its-kind series of augmented reality public art projects throughout South Florida called “Lapse”. Depeña was also a finalist for the renowned Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO) Grants & Commissions program for Hispanic artists for 2017-2018. In addition, he received a nomination for the prestigious United States Artist grant in 2017.

Daniel Freaker

Daniel Freaker received his MFA from the Slade School of Art in London, where he explored the painterly qualities of print, video, film and photography. His paintings are reminiscent of film scenes and fragments of a broader narrative. His work has evolved through collaboration with other artists and years of exhibiting and lecturing in the U.K. and internationally, including at the British Museum in London, Dae Won University in Korea, and The Meera Gallery in Pune, India. When asked about the essential element in his work, he answered that “while the colors are often bright and beautiful, there is an underlying sense of exploring the human condition within the work. The narratives of the characters within the work are not perfect or idyllic in any way. Much like people are always searching for meaning, peace, and connection, the paintings try to support those journeys the audience has.”

Herb Williams

Herb Williams is an artist celebrated for his distinctive and large-scale crayon sculptures. He delves into themes related to childhood, nostalgia, and contemporary issues, employing crayons as his primary medium. Williams' work involves the creation of intricate and vibrant sculptures that challenge traditional art forms, transforming everyday materials into extraordinary pieces of art. His innovative approach and exceptional craftsmanship have earned him recognition and captivated audiences around the world. Williams received a BFA in sculpture from Birmingham-Southern College. While working at a bronze foundry in West Palm Beach, FL, he cast hundreds of sculptures with the atelier Popliteo and completed the last work of art by photorealist Duane Hanson. Williams then moved to Nashville, TN, where he has lived and created art since 1998. In 2011, he was sponsored by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He received his first public art commission in 2017, which was followed by commissions for a large-scale outdoor installation in Lubbock, Texas, and six larger-than-life sculptures for the International Concourse at the Atlanta airport. His artwork was featured at an inaugural art exhibit in Washington, DC, alongside Shepard Fairey. He also opened “Plunderland,” a walk-in room installation consisting of almost 500,000 crayons at the art gallery Rare in Chelsea. A collection of seventy sculptures and paintings was exhibited in Shanghai, China. Williams' multi-story graffiti paintings have been featured alongside internationally known street artists in the Nashville Walls Project. He is currently represented by galleries in Nashville, Laguna Beach, and Charlotte.

Ferney Mercado

Ferney Mercado is a dedicated firefighter based in Charlotte, NC, who has been serving the community for nearly a decade. Beyond his work as a firefighter, Mercado is also an accomplished artist and the founder of Char’d Urban Wood Works. He combines his firefighting career with his passion for art, specifically utilizing the traditional Japanese technique of Shou Sugi Ban, which involves charring wood to create unique and resilient pieces​​. His creations range from signature charcuterie boards to dining tables, all crafted with a deep appreciation for the natural beauty of wood and a commitment to sustainability​. Mercado's dedication to both his professions is evident in his ability to balance the intense demands of firefighting with his creative endeavors.

Patrick Puckett

Mississippi-born artist Patrick Puckett is known for painting portraits of figures with deadpan stares, culled from a life lived in the South. His paintings are recognized for their bold colors and languid figures, executed with confident interaction between paint application, shape, color, and texture. The works on paper emit intimacy, with more subtle features and evidence of the artist’s hand through drawn elements. The works on canvas command space, strength, and attention through scale, assertive brush strokes and color choice. He paints characters that are woefully out of sync with their surroundings: wedding-goers standing solemnly in a row; a lone man lost in thought amidst a lively crowd; a serious senior citizen holding a bouquet of flowers. Puckett lines up festive occasions such as barbeques, bars and beach scenes, only to call out their less amiable undersides. Studying under Professor James Meade at the University of Southern Mississippi, Patrick received his bachelor degree in fine arts in 2002. When he’s not painting, he works as a graphic designer, drinks beer, and listens to Elvis. In 2022, Puckett and his family moved back to Jackson, Mississippi, where he maintains a studio.

Seth Smith

Seth Smith is a Wichita native, born and raised. He attended the University of Kansas, graduating in 2003 with a degree in painting and printmaking. Following graduation, Smith moved to the Kansas City area where he now resides and works. Over the years, he has built up bodies of work in both abstract and representational styles, and he has collectors, both private and corporate, around the globe. Smith has been the featured artist at several national art shows and events. The Block World Headquarters, along with The University of Kansas Business School, have both acquired pieces of Seth’s artwork for their permanent collections.

Victoria Villasana

Victoria Villasana is a Mexican textile artist whose designs are inspired by her Mexican culture and heritage. She is a passionate advocate for the preservation of traditional Mexican textile art techniques and has exhibited her textile art works in various galleries around the world. Currently residing in Mexico after living in London for over a decade, she cites her experiences in these different cultures as inspirational to her work, describing her art as a “symbiosis of cultures.” Her trademark pieces, portraits embellished with yarn and pasted up on London streets, mix indigenous Mexican and Western art and deliver a healthy dose of rebellious femininity. The dynamism in her work also derives from the way the yarn is left uncut, bleeding over the edges of the pages, far below the frame, giving a surreal aesthetic.

Justin Ellis

Justin Ellis’ mixed media art is as rich in color, layers and technique as it is in imagination and meaning. Growing up in Charlotte, creating art was a family affair and Justin knew he wanted to pursue art, so he attended Northwest School of the Arts then Art Institute of Raleigh, Durham. Due to the cost of schooling, Justin began working side jobs related to art to supplement the tuition cost. On the fateful day of June 10, 2019, riots erupted in Charlotte, NC, over questions of equality. That day, he was asked to create window installations for The Brooklyn Collective windows ruined during the protests. Over the next two weeks, he craftily transformed them into an art gallery. With support, guidance, and space to create, Justin's art flourished, and he was offered a spot in The Brooklyn Collective as a resident artist. Justin’s style is ever-evolving but has signature elements that make his work stand out. He loves to mix mediums and materials to make unique compositions. These different combinations excite Justin and connect to what he loves most about being a creator: that he can always grow and develop as an artist. The freedom to interchange the styles, mediums, and colors he uses makes for endless possibilities and opportunity for improvement.

Elliana Esquivel

Elliana Esquivel is a self-taught artist based in Charlotte, North Carolina. With a blend of traditional and digital mediums, her minimalistic line work aims to illustrate the psychological facets of the human experience. Having grown up a dual citizen of both America and the Philippines, Elliana's art style is greatly influenced by both her Southeast Asian and Western heritage. Throughout her career, she has illustrated book covers for publishing companies such as HarperCollins, Little, Brown and Company, and Faber & Faber. She has also designed album work for Universal Music Group and provided promotional artwork for the streaming service, Hulu.