Elizabeth Fidoten
Artist Statement
My work explores the beauty of human experience through contrasts—between the fragile and the ornate, the ephemeral and the enduring. I often begin with the body: its gestures, rhythms, and presence suggested through spare, searching line. Against this quiet structure I layer pattern, decorative forms, and fields of mark-making that create visual tension between structure and ornament.
Working across painting, drawing, collage, and artist books, I move between minimal gesture and intricate surface. Pattern and repetition allow images to unfold gradually, creating spaces where observation, memory, and imagination intersect.
At the core of my practice is a deep attention to surface and rhythm. Through layering and visual contrast, I aim to create work that invites slow looking and reveals poetic meaning within everyday experience.
Biography
Elizabeth “Beth” Fidoten is a New York–based mixed-media artist whose work explores the beauty and complexity of human experience through line, pattern, and layered surface. Moving between figurative suggestion and ornamental structure, her practice draws on traditions of drawing, painting, and book arts while incorporating tactile materials and hand processes. Fidoten has exhibited in New York galleries including Viridian Artists and New Century Artists, where she presented the solo exhibition Into the Shadows. Her work is held in collections including Condé Nast, Meredith Publishing, and Mount Holyoke College.
Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
Master of Arts, Art Education, City College of New York (CUNY), New York, NY
MFA Studies, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Bachelor of Arts, Studio Art, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
SOLO EXHIBTION
2013, Into the Shadows, New Century Artists, New York, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITION
2026 – Herstory, Viridian Artists, New York, NY
2025 – Herstory, Viridian Artists, New York, NY
2024 – Herstory, Viridian Artists, New York, NY
2024 – A Bronx Writer’s History, Bronx County Historical Society, Bronx, NY
2023 – Herstory, Viridian Artists, New York, NY
2019 – Psychedelic Moods, Living Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2012 – No Wrong Answers, City College Art Gallery, New York, NY
2011 – Group Exhibition, New Century Artists, New York, NY
2010 – Group Exhibition, Viridian Artists, New York, NY
SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS
The Art of the Cigar, Benzel Busch Mercedes, Bergen County, NJ
The Art of the Cigar, Beekman Bar & Books, New York, NY
COLLECTIONS
Condé Nast Publishing
Meredith Publishing
Mount Holyoke College
Private Collections
PRESS
Crain’s New York Business
NBC
New York Daily News
New York Observer
The Cigar Handbook
TEACHING
2013–Present, Visual Arts Teacher, High School for Contemporary Arts, Bronx, NY
Instructor, Academy of Art University, Online Division
PUBLICATION
Fidoten, Elizabeth. Observe and Envision: Critical Thinking Skills that STEM Needs and Art Education Builds, 2013.