Vaughn Bell

Not to be confused with Vonn Bell.

Vaughn Bell (born 1978, Syracuse, New York) is an artist primarily working in ecological art, sculpture, installation, environmental artand public art. She is known for her "Village Greens" art installations with living plants, which have been shown in museums and other venues internationally.[1] Bell is also recognized for her public art projects included in collections such as the City of Seattle Public Art Collection[2] and Washington State Arts Commission Collection.[3] Bell lives and works in Seattle, Washington and works on art projects around the world.

Work

External videos
Vaughn Bell, “The experience of a piece is actually your viewpoint when you're inside it”, Science History Institute

Vaughn Bell creates socially engaged art projects that influence how humans relate to their environment.[4] She is focused on creating "convivial spaces" in which people can experience a symbiotic connection to their local ecologies.[5]

Vaughn Bell's ongoing "Village Greens" series has included projects at venues ranging from Musee Brugge[6] and Kunsthaus Zurich,[7] to the Discovery Center at the Gates Foundation.[8] Her commissions also include installations at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art,[9] the Edith Russ Site for New Media Art in Oldenburg, Germany,[10][11] the Owens Walter E. Terhune Art Gallery in Ohio,[12] the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education[13] and the Chemical Heritage Foundation[14][4] in Philadelphia, PA.

Vaughn Bell's earlier works often use performance and humor to point to paradoxical ways humans relate to other species.[15] Bell has also explored the boundaries between plants and people by making plants a part of wearable clothing, and caring for them like pets.[16]

Bell has extensive experience in the field of public art, focusing on water and transportation infrastructure.[17] Bell has been employed as a “staff artist” by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), working on arts planning and integrating design enhancements into public projects such as trails, sidewalks, and bridges.[18] She wrote a Public Art Master Plan for Seattle Public Utilties Drainage and Wastewater.[19] Bell has also served as Lead Artist on the Ship Canal Water Quality Project in Seattle.[20] Bell worked with King County Rainscapes to create a rain garden art guide and a sculptural rain garden art installation.[21]

In 2021, Bell created "Plantscapes" at Kew Royal Botanic Garden, a series of large-scale sculptural installations created in collaboration with horticulturalists. "Plantscapes" was an artwork that brought people and plants up close.[22]

Bell's work has been featured in Artnews, Afterimage, and Arcade Journal, among others.[11] Her work is also included in The New Earthwork: Art Action Agency, from ISC Press and Art and Ecology Now by Andrew Brown from Thames and Hudson

Selected Environmental Artworks

Image Title Date(s) Location
Plantscapes 2021 Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, London, UK
All the Rivers in the World 2019 University of Washington, Tacoma, WA
Path of Water / Percorso d'acqua 2017 Hermitage of San Bartolomeo, Legio, Abruzzo, Italy
Mossuments 2013 Jordan Woods Natural Area, Beaverton OR
Metropolis 2012 Seattle Center, Seattle, WA; Seattle Center Foundation
Again, Life Becomes a River 2007 Kamiyama, Japan

References

  1. ^ "Village Greens". VAUGHN BELL STUDIO. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  2. ^ "Seattle eMuseum". seattlearts.emuseum.com. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  3. ^ "Artist Collection". ArtsWA. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  4. ^ a b "Village Green". Science History Institute. August 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  5. ^ "ABOUT". VAUGHN BELL STUDIO. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  6. ^ "Gavin Turk: Rebel Garden". www.gavinturk.com. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  7. ^ "Growing Hills". VAUGHN BELL STUDIO. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  8. ^ "Themes". Gates Discovery Center. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  9. ^ "Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape". MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art). 2008-05-24. Archived from the original on 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
  10. ^ Bell, Vaughn. "One Big House". Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  11. ^ a b "About Vaughn Bell". ARTSblog. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Owens Walter E. Terhune Art Gallery Presents "Vaughn Bell: Transported Landscapes" Exhibit, Feb. 18 – March 29". Owens Community College. 2011-02-10. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
  13. ^ "Welcome Home". Schuylkill Center. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  14. ^ Thomas-Anderson, Monet (1 July 2013). "Sensing Change at the Chemical Heritage Foundation". Campus Philly. Archived from the original on 4 August 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  15. ^ "ARCHIVE". VAUGHN BELL STUDIO. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  16. ^ "Vaughn Bell". greenmuseum.org. 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  17. ^ "PUBLIC ART PLANNING". VAUGHN BELL STUDIO. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  18. ^ Bell, Vaughn (2011-04-12). "Embedded in Transportation". ARTSblog. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
  19. ^ Lindsay, Erika (2018-07-26). "Vision for Public Art Seattle Public Utilities". Art Beat. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  20. ^ "Ship Canal Water Quality Project - Utilities | seattle.gov". www.seattle.gov. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  21. ^ 4Culture (2025-02-27). "Water, Water Everywhere: Public art projects support human and ecological health". 4Culture. Retrieved 2026-03-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ "The inspiration behind Plantscapes | Kew". www.kew.org. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
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