Artist Vivien Collens Visits Dalton Painting and Engineering Classes

Students from Dalton's High School Painting and Engineering classes gathered on the 13th floor Monday morning for a collaborative meeting with acclaimed abstract artist, Vivien Collens. During her visit, Collens shared some of her latest works, including her first freestanding sculptures, "City Blocks", and her artistic journey from a longtime painter, to working with small wooden sculptures, to now constructing large architectural installations.

 

After her presentation, Collens invited students to build their own freestanding structures using small steel grids in various shapes, sizes, and colors to understand the relationship between architecture, geometry, and the creative process. After building their compositions in small groups, students presented their work to share their vision and approach.

 

A longtime painter, Collens began exhibiting her “Urban Studies and City Blocks" solo exhibition in 2015 at the Rockefeller Center headquarters of Gensler. Following the exhibition, Collens began developing larger sculptures focused on urban architecture and energy. These led to a dialogue with the environment and public sculpture. In 2017, Collens installed an 18' high sculpture for the Cary Hill Sculpture Park in Salem, NY, and completed a 16' high commissioned sculpture from welded aluminum for the permanent collection of the Kenner Sculpture Garden in New Orleans.