Artist to sign off on residency with ‘Interactions’

Published On Thu 5 Jun 2014 by Grant Hill

American visual artist Ellen K Levy will next week mark the culmination of a residency at the University of Dundee by discussing her practice and how she was influenced by D’Arcy Thompson, Dundee’s first Professor of Biology.

Ellen’s work explores biological science through mixed-media installations, forums, curatorial projects and writing. She has undertaken a short residency in the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum at the University and, in the free public talk on Monday, 9th June, she will reflect on the profound influence of Thompson’s work on her and other artists.

“We are delighted to welcome Ellen Levy to Dundee for this talk as part of her residency here,” said Matthew Jarron, Curator of Museum Services at the University. “She is one of the many, many artists who were inspired by D’Arcy’s seminal text ‘On Growth and Form’. This book has also had a profound impact on scientists and philosophers among others, and Ellen will deliver her perspective on his work during her talk.”

Levy has developed a body of work that applies Thompson’s theory of constraints and his view of organisms as dynamical systems to a changing world, one that is increasingly out of balance. Several of her works focus on the interaction between a biological system and a radically transformed site, showing glimpses of how the built environment and some of the smallest forms of nature might jarringly intersect.

The artist is currently Special Advisor on the Arts and Sciences at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts at Portland, Maine and has exhibited at numerous group and solo shows, including at the New York Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. She has since published widely on art and complex systems.

‘Interactions’, a free talk by Ellen K Levy, takes place at D’Arcy Thompson Lecture Theatre, Tower Building, at 5.30pm on Monday, 9th June. Visitors will also be able to view ‘A Glimpse of a Great Vision: The D'Arcy Thompson Art Fund Collection’ a major exhibition in the Lamb and Tower Foyer galleries showing works acquired by Museum Services as part of a two-year project funded by the Art Fund’s RENEW scheme.

The exhibition, which runs until 26th July, features paintings, prints, sculpture, video and computer art exploring the links between art and science. A total of 65 works by 27 artists have been acquired or commissioned for the collection in addition to the D’Arcy Thompson Print Folio, which features work by a further 16 artists. ‘A Glimpse of a Great Vision’ will be accompanied by a new limited-edition artist’s book by Semper Fidelis.

More information is available at http://www.dundee.ac.uk/museum/exhibitions/zoology/vision/.

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