BIO

Vivien Russe was born in Seattle, Washington and spent her childhood in Cleveland, Ohio. At an early age, frequent family outings to the Cleveland Museum of Art gave her exposure to significant works of art, including an extensive Asian art collection, for which the museum is known. The simplicity of form and pattern, the shallow narrative spaces, and the attention to the details of human life and nature shaped her visual understanding.

Torn between her love of the visual arts and the sciences, she chose a liberal arts education at Radcliffe College. Though the art history program was exceptional and formative, studio art was mostly confined to aspects of design. After graduating and recognizing a compelling interest in studio art, she went on to the Boston School of the Museum of Fine Arts, graduating with a degree in printmaking.

She then moved to an island in Casco Bay near Portland, Maine. With no access to a printing press, she developed her painting skills - mainly landscapes - inspired by the location. Ten years later, moving back to the mainland, she found a vibrant community of artists, an experience that had a major influence on her development. Feeling confined by landscape painting, she went into a period of intense experimentation. Though turbulent, this experience helped her find imagery and a voice that more closely expressed her unique vision.

In 1991, she was awarded the Bingham Prize to attend the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, which helped facilitate this growth. Though primarily a painter, she became President of Peregrine Press, allowing her to return to her earlier interest in printmaking. 2012-14 was her first experience working on a collaborative installation, ‘Ant Farm, The Nexus of Art and Science’, that was exhibited extensively throughout New England.

Russe has shown work throughout the state of Maine and in other parts of the country. Her work is in many private collections, locally and overseas. She has been represented by Frost Gully Gallery, June Fitzpatrick Gallery and Aucocisco Gallery. She is currently represented by Sarah Bouchard Gallery. She lives and works in South Portland, Maine.