Debra Vilen creates landscapes that are inspired by the natural world. In her recent work, On the Wing, Debra captures vignettes of urban wildlife and their existence within the confines of a densely populated metropolitan environment. In light of the loss of 3 billion birds in North America since 1970, her works highlight the fragile nature of our collective existence. Combining a hybrid approach, Debra experiments with digital techniques and alternative mediums that harken back to early historic photographic processes.
Tides of Extinction, 2024 by the Coy Wolf Collective.
The collaborative work, Tides of Extinction, 2024, by the Coy Wolf Collective (Elizabeth Knowles, Steven Harris and Debra Vilen) is second in our series of sculptures for the AVS Gallery addressing the impacts of climate change. Tides of Extinction honors the resilience of the sturgeon, which first appeared approximately 200 million years ago. A small but stable population of Shortness sturgeon is found on the Connecticut River. Atlantic sturgeon are listed as a threatened species in Connecticut.
The work is on view at Open Air 2024, Alexey von Schlippe Gallery, University of Connecticut, Avery Point Campus, Groton, CT from June 6 - September 30, 2024. Curator: Jeanne Ciravollo.
The Coy Wolf Collective create hybrid works which combine photography with sculptural constructions,
Silent Vanishing, 2022
The collaborative work, Silent Vanishing, 2022 created by the CoyWolf Collective (Elizabeth Knowles, Steven Harris and Debra Vilen), exhibited at Open Air 2022, Alexey von Schlippe Gallery, University of Connecticut, Avery Point Campus, Groton, CT, July 14, 2022 - September 29, 2022
Debra’s work was included in the exhibition, Other Ways of Seeing, Alternative Processes in Photography curated by Orestes Gonzalez and Pierre-Yves Linot at Culture Lab LIC at the Plaxall Gallery, January 6 - February 6, 2022.