This week we welcome the CoyWolf Collective: Elizabeth Knowles, Debra Vilen and Steven Phillip Harris.
Inspired by the coywolf, a canid hybrid descended from coyotes and eastern wolves, the CoyWolf Collective is a trio of sculptors and photographic artists merging their diverse skills to address issues of nature’s fragility and resilience in the era of extreme climate change. Recent projects include a sculptural installation for “Open Air 2024”at the University of Connecticut, Avery Point.
Elizabeth Knowles is a visual artist based in Norfolk, CT and New York City. Utilizing a variety of media, her work reveals both static and dynamic patterns in nature recurring on differing scales of perception. Born and raised in St Louis, MO, Elizabeth earned a BA from Pomona College an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Steven Phillip Harris is a Brooklyn-based artist. He holds an MFA in studio art and is currently teaching photography at Queens College and at SUNY/Empire State College. The surrealist relationship to camera-less photographs became a focus for Harris as he experimented with the chemical process and materiality of the black-and-white photographic medium. This work plays with modes of perception in an unexpected spontaneous style by bending the traditional rules working through a light sensitive chemical process.
Debra Vilen is a Brooklyn-based artist. She holds a BA in the fine arts from the State University of New York and works in the contemporary art world in New York City. Her photographic landscapes are inspired by the natural world with a particular interest in capturing vignettes of urban wildlife and their existence within the confines of a densely populated metropolitan environment.
From the artists:
“We create hybrid sculptures which communicate the forms and images of nature rapidly disappearing. Combining photography with sculptural constructions reminiscent of geological formations, our installations take on a commanding physical presence. For example, piercing eyes of wild birds in flight emerging from jagged geographical structures engage the viewer physically and emotionally.
The Coywolf Collective strives to illuminate the sense of urgency as time is running out for life as we know it on planet Earth. Upheavals in our collective environment are echoed in our personal life experiences. In addition to making art that calls attention to the problems of climate change, the CoyWolf Collective connects to the natural world by volunteering to protect nesting sites in NYC, maintaining protected areas, participating in clean-up events for local parks and supporting land trusts.
Unfortunately, thousands of wildlife species near human development are being silently displaced or eradicated by rising oceans and loss of habitat. Our work strives to educate, understand, and work with the grief, beauty, and vitality that accompanies the transient aspects of all types of life in the 21st century.”
See more work on their websites:
http://www.elizabethknowles.com
See more of our Artist of the Week features here.
