Ellen Levy

Last updated
Ellen K. Levy
Ellen Levy c.2003.jpg
Levy in Speaking Portraits c.2003
Born
New York, New York, United States
Education
  • University of Plymouth, Ph.D., 2012
  • School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1981
  • Mount Holyoke College, B.A.
Occupation(s)Artist and scholar
Known forMultimedia art, art-science collaborations
AwardsNational Science Foundation, NYFA, NASA grants
Website www.complexityart.com

Ellen K. Levy is an American multimedia artist, writer, curator, and educator whose interdisciplinary work explores the intersections of art, science, technology, and the environment. Since the early 1980s, she has investigated how scientific paradigms, including neuroscience, evolution, and complexity theory, inform visual culture and artistic practice. Levy has exhibited internationally and published widely on the role of visual art in shaping and interpreting scientific knowledge. [1]

Contents

Through her evolving career, Levy has examined how art–science collaborations influence social and political movements, environmental activism, and contemporary art’s role in public discourse. Her work emphasizes the interdisciplinarity of design across engineering, art, and technology, informed by emergent scientific ideas. She has engaged with themes such as morphology, systems theory, and eco-catastrophe, positioning her among artists who bridge visual culture and scientific inquiry. Science historian and author Arthur I. Miller has described her more recent work as focusing on "the convergence of biology and information systems and the borders of the animate and inanimate." [2]

She has examined how art-science collaborations have influenced social and political movements, encouraged environmental activism, and shaped contemporary art’s evolving role. [1] Levy has emphasized the interdisciplinarity of design across engineering, art, and technology, often involving practitioners engaged with emerging technologies. [1] Her studies on morphology, systems theory, and eco-catastrophe have positioned her among key figures bridging visual culture and scientific inquiry. She has engaged with the interrelationships among art, science, and technology through exhibitions, educational programs, publications, and curatorial work since the mid-1980s. [3] As artist Leslie Wayne reflected, “one of [Levy’s] signal achievements was the way in which she’s placed art and science in dialogue.” [4] Levy and Philip Galanter have similarly written that “the study of complexity creates bridges across many branches of science and offers a revolutionary intellectual vector that has ramifications for other disciplines, such as art and philosophy.” [5]

Her artwork spans painting, installation, animation, and digital media, frequently engaging archival sources, scientific diagrams, and layered imagery to interrogate systems of knowledge and perception. She has collaborated with institutions such as NASA and Leonardo, the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology. [4] Her research explores form, matter, and ecological crisis, and she has contributed to scholarship morphology, perception, and art-science intersections.

Education

Levy earned a BA in Zoology from Mount Holyoke College. She later received her MFA in Visual Arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in affiliation with Tufts University. During her time in Boston, she worked in the pharmacology department at Harvard Medical School, where she was exposed to research by David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel on neural mechanisms of visual perception. [6] She earned her doctorate from the University of Plymouth in 2012 on the study of art and the neuroscience of attention. [7]

Career

Levy's career has combined art making, curatorial work, activism and interdisciplinary scholarship. Her early projects explored perception and systems theory through painting and installation. Over time, her work increasingly incorporated scientific concepts such as morphology, genetics, and complex adaptive systems. In parallel, she contributed essays, curated exhibitions, and collaborated with scientific institutions, advancing dialogue between the arts and sciences.

Interdisciplinary art

FEAST (Fostering Ecocentric Art and Science Together), is the result of a collaboration between Levy and Victoria Vesna in partnership with the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW). [8] The series explores the intersections of food, climate, and health, bringing together artists, scientists, and the public to examine links between ecological systems and human well-being. It is supported by a seed grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. [9] In July 2025, FEAST II: Let the Plants Carry Us was curated by Kathy High. [10] Levy serves on the advisory board of CPW. [11]

In 2024, she presented Seeing Through at the University of Dundee's Tower Foyer Gallery and the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum, building on her long-term engagement with D’Arcy Thompson's theories of morphology and broader interdisciplinary themes. [12] [4] The exhibition reimagined zoological specimens as hybridized organic-technological forms, influenced by the speculative visions of J.G. Ballard and Richard Hamilton. It reflected her sustained work with D’Arcy Thompson’s theories of morphology, first explored in a 1982 solo show at Baruch College and developed through her 2014 research residency at Dundee. This work culminated in her co-editing the 2021 anthology D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson's Generative Influences in Art, Design, and Architecture, longlisted for the Historians of British Art (HBA) Book Prize in 2022, and curating the 2022 exhibition From Forces to Forms. [13] [14] Conversations with Stephen Jay Gould, who wrote the foreword to a later edition of Wentworth Thompson's On Growth and Form, further shaped her thinking about Thompson's mathematical and physical models of form. Levy has cited Thompson's emphasis on form and matter as a major influence on her work and that of many contemporary artists, describing Seeing Through as "the culmination of decades of engagement with D’Arcy Thompson's ideas." [4] Her ongoing dialogue with Thompson's legacy underscores Levy's broader commitment to examining how scientific models of form, matter, and transformation resonate across contemporary art and design. [15]

Levy, "whose fascination with technology is not only tinged by skepticism but also rivaled by an interest in the acts of God that are sometimes visited on grand technological schemes -- witness the Challenger," was one of the early artists commissioned by the NASA Art Program, in 1985. [16] [17] [18] Her early career focused on painting and exhibitions at then alternative science spaces such as the New York Academy of Sciences in 1984, NASA; and the National Academy of Sciences, and is also in their collection. [19] [20] She has had numerous solo exhibitions in the United States and abroad, including at Associated American Artists [21] and Michael Steinberg Fine Arts in New York City. [22] Shared Premises: Innovation and Adaptation was exhibited at the National Technical Museum in Prague. [23] Her work was also included in the Second Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art exhibit, Petroliana (Oil Patriotism). [24] [25]

Her talks and exhibitions explore attention, perception, and genetics, [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] including human error and inattention blindness in Stealing Attention; [32] [33] [34] in exhibitions involving the environment such as Weather Report and Climate Change, (2004) curated by Lucy Lippard, and Face Off (2004), curated by Ronald Feldman; [35] [36] and a two-person exhibition based on data from the magazine Skeptical Inquirer; [37] [38] and in her New York Public Library site-specific exhibition Meme Machines, using mixed media to visualize cultural evolution and ways of creating and transmitting knowledge, [39] [40] which was also the subject of an Art Talk interview with novelist Siri Hustvedt. [41]

Extended art and science activities

Former chair of Leonardo/ISAST's LEAF (Leonardo Education and Art Forum) initiative, [42] Levy co-directs, with Patricia Olynyk, the New York City-based Leonardo Art and Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER), part of Leonardo/ISAST's international program of evening gatherings that brings artists and scientists together for informal presentations and conversations. [43] [44] A twice invited participant to The Watermill Center's Art & Consciousness Workshop, [45] she was President of the College Art Association from 2004 to 2006, [46] Special Advisor on the Arts and Sciences at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts(IDSVA) from 2012 to 2017, and a Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Arts and Sciences at Skidmore College in 1999, a position funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, [47] and named one of the 66 Brilliant Women in Creative Technology. [48] She has taught transdisciplinary classes and workshops at The New School, Cooper Union, Brooklyn College, and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. [49]

Don't Cry in Space, Ellen Levy, acrylic and gel over unique print, 2020 Don't Cry in Space, Ellen Levy, 2020.jpg
Don't Cry in Space, Ellen Levy, acrylic and gel over unique print, 2020

Levy has published in many books and journals including Leonardo/ISAST's journal Leonardo. In 1996 she was guest editor of Art Journal's Contemporary Art and the Genetic Code, the first widely distributed, in-depth academic publication about contemporary artistic responses to genetics, genomics, which included articles by Stephen J. Gould, Roald Hoffmann, Robert Root-Bernstein, Martin Kemp, and Dorothy Nelkin, and was cited in Cambridge University Press's Science in Context, Writing Modern Art and Science – An Overview. [50] [51] Her article Contemporary Art and the Genetic Code: New Models and Methods of Representation, [52] was cited in Stephen Wilson's 2003's Information Arts, Intersections of Art, Science, and Technology, [53] an introduction to the work and ideas of "a who's who of international scenemakers," artists who use and influence science and technology; and in 2016, with her essay Art Enters the Biotechnology Debate: Questions of Ethics, [54] was listed in Oxford University Press's authoritative guide to the current scholarship on Science and Contemporary Art. [55] Barbara Larson and Ellen Levy are co-editors of the Science and the Arts Since 1750 six title book series published by Routledge. [56]

Selected bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Beckenstein, Joyce (December 8, 2022). "Beyond the Art/Science Duality: A Conversation with Ellen K. Levy". Sculpture, International Sculpture Center. 41 (6). Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  2. Miller, Arthur I. "Ellen K. Levy". Arthur I. Miller. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  3. Levy, Ellen K. (September 27, 2022). "Complexity and Visual Systems". Issues in Science and Technology. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Wayne, Leslie (June 24, 2024). "Ellen K. Levy by Leslie Wayne, Art that engages with science and archives". Bomb Magazine. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  5. Galanter, Philip; Levy, Ellen K. (2003). "Complexity Science and Art: An Emerging Relationship". Leonardo. 36 (4): 247–253. doi:10.1162/002409403322248939.
  6. Beckenstein, Joyce (May 30, 2017). "Neural Networks: Ellen K. Levy on her 'Meme Machines' and the thinking behind them". artcritical. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  7. Carey, Brainard (January 6, 2016). "Interview: Ellen K. Levy". Praxis Interview Magazine, WYBC, Yale University. Yale Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  8. "FEAST (Fostering Ecocentric Art & Science Together)". feastforchange.com. FEAST (Fostering Ecocentric Art & Science Together). Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  9. "Climate Change and Human Health Seed Grants". bwfund.org. Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  10. "FEAST II: Let the Plants Carry Us". cpw.org. Center for Photography at Woodstock. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  11. "Staff & Board". cpw.org. CPW. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  12. "Ellen K Levy – Seeing Through". University of Dundee. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  13. "D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson's Generative Influences in Art, Design, and Architecture". bloomsbury.com. Bloomsbury. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  14. Corwin, William (April 1, 2022). "Forces to Forms By". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  15. Filippone, Christine (June 1, 2022). "Review D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson's Generative Influences in Art, Design, and Architecture: From Forces to Forms Edited by Ellen K. Levy and Charissa N. Terranova". Woman’s Art Journal. 43 (1): 41. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  16. Raynor, Viven (January 8, 1995). "ART; Worlds Falling Apart and Getting Hooked Up". The New York Times. No. 13. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  17. Schulman, Robert (1988). Visions of flight : a retrospective from the NASA Art Collection. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). p. 29. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  18. Marter, Joan (1987). "Ellen K. Levy". Arts Magazine. 61: 97–99. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  19. Levy, Ellen K. "Mirrors and Reflections: A Personal Recollection". The Art Collection of the National Academy of Sciences. National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  20. "Genetic fruit, thoughtful trees: Academy treasures". newscientist.com. New Scientist. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  21. Ebony, David. "David Ebony's Top Ten Ellen K. Levy at Associated American Artists". artnet.com. Artnet Worldwide Corporation. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  22. Pearlman, Ellen (6 April 2009). "Art Seen: Ellen K. Levy". brooklynrail.org. The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  23. Robertson, Bruce (September 22, 2013). "Painting in the House of Solomon: Ellen K. Levy's Work Revisited". Woman's Art Journal. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  24. "Petroliana". newsgrist.typepad.com. Newsgrist - where spin is art. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  25. Niedowski, Erika (March 25, 2007). "Artists take dissenting view of Russia's new oil riches". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  26. Kemp, Martin (January 23, 2003). "The Mona Lisa of modern science". Nature. 421 (6921): 416–420. Bibcode:2003Natur.421..416K. doi: 10.1038/nature01403 . PMID   12540913.
  27. Genocchio, Benjamin (February 6, 2005). "ART REVIEW; The Haunting Terrain Between Creation and Science". New York Times. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  28. Goodman, Jonathan (April 8, 2009). "Ellen K. Levy: Stealing Attention at Michael Steinberg Fine Art". Art Critical. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  29. "Re-Invention: My Life as an Astronaut, Artwork by Ellen Levy". artswestchester.org. Arts Westchester. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  30. "Ellen K. Levy: Decoding Metaphors for the 21st Century". The Feminist Art Project. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  31. "Culture in Mendel's Garden by Ellen K. Levy". Genome News Network. May 24, 2002. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  32. Goodman, Jonathan (April 8, 2009). "Ellen K. Levy: Stealing Attention at Michael Steinberg Fine Art". Art Critical. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  33. Martinez-Conde, Susana (November 22, 2014). "Illusion Chasers: Artist Ellen Levy Steals Your Attention". Scientific American. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  34. Corwin, William (6 April 2016). "Truth in the Visual Arts Skepticism in the Work of Ellen K. Levy and Patricia Olynyk". brooklynrail.org/. The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  35. Paglia, Michael (November 29, 2007). "Weather Report: Art and Climate Change". Westword. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  36. Cotter, Holland (November 26, 2004). "Art In Review; 'Face Off'". New York Times. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  37. G'Sell, Eileen. "Sumptuous Skeptics: Ellen K. Levy and Patricia Olynyk Stage Creative Inquisition". artefuse.com. Arte Fuse. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  38. Dobler, Russ (July–August 2016). "Two Artists Combine Art, Science, and Skepticism". Vol. 40, no. 4. Center for Inquiry. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  39. "Ellen K. Levy, Meme Machines, Art Wall on Third Exhibition Series". nypl.org. The New York Public Library. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  40. Beckenstein, Joyce (30 May 2017). "Neural Networks: Ellen K. Levy on her "Meme Machines" and the thinking behind them". artcritical.com. artcritical, LLC. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  41. "Art Talks, Meme Machines, Siri Hustvedt, Ellen K. Levy, An Artist Dialogue Series Event". nypl.org. The New York Public Library. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  42. "Leonardo Education and Art Forum Chair Ellen K. Levy". Leonardo. 43 (5): 518. 2010. doi:10.1162/LEON_a_00069. S2CID   57558517.
  43. "LASER Talks in New York City". leonardo.info. Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (Leonardo/ISAST). Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  44. "Ellen Levy". creativedisturbance.org. Creative Disturbance, The University of Texas at Dallas. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  45. "The Annual Art and Science Insights into Consciousness Workshop". watermillcenter.org. The Byrd Hoffman Water Mill Foundation. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  46. "About Presidents of the Board of Directors". collegeart.org. College Art Association. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  47. Who's Who in Research : Visual Arts. Bristol, UK; Wilmington, NC: Intellect Books. May 2013. p. 179. ISBN   9781841504957 . Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  48. "66 Brilliant Women in Creative Technology". Creative Tech Week. PRLog Press Release Logo Press Release Distribution. April 30, 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  49. "Color, Light, Motion. Episode 16: Ellen K. Levy: The Question of Attention and Thomas Wilfred's Lumia". davidbermantfoundation.org. David Bermant Foundation. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  50. Henderson, Linda (January 13, 2005). "Science in Context (). CopyrightC©DOI: 10.1017/S0269889704000225Printed in the United KingdomEditor's Introduction: I. Writing Modern Art and Science – An Overview; II. Cubism, Futurism, and Ether Physics in the Early Twentieth Century". Science in Context. 4 (17): 432. doi: 10.1017/S0269889704000225 .
  51. Levy, Ellen (Spring 1996). "Contemporary Art and the Genetic Code". Art Journal. 55 (1): 7–16, 20–24. doi:10.1080/00043249.1996.10791734. JSTOR   777802.
  52. Levy, Ellen K. “Contemporary Art and the Genetic Code: New Models and Methods of Representation.” (Spring 1996). "Contemporary Art and the Genetic Code: New Models and Methods of Representation" . Art Journal. 55 (1): 20–24. doi:10.1080/00043249.1996.10791734 . Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  53. Wilson, Stephen (2002). Information Arts, Intersections of Art, Science, and Technology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. p. 95. ISBN   9780262232098 . Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  54. King, Elaine A.; Levin, Gail (September 1, 2006). Ethics and the Visual Arts. Edited by Elaine A. King and Gail Levin. New York: Simon and Schuster, Allworth. pp. 199–216. ISBN   9781581154580 . Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  55. Albu, Cristina. "Science and Contemporary Art". oxfordbibliographies.com. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  56. "Science and the Arts since 1750". routledge.com. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. Retrieved 18 August 2021.