Vivian Torrence

A contemporary printmaker and collage artist, Vivian Torrence received her BS in Ed. from Eastern Illinois University (1967) and her Master of Fine Arts in painting from Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa (1978). Her first solo exhibition took place in 1983 and since that time her art has been the subject of exhibitions at Purdue University, the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, the University of Pennsylvania, Deutsches Museum, Munich and Amerika Haus, Munich. Torrence has also taught and lectured at such institutions as Iowa State University, University of California, Cornell University and the University of Florida.

The relationship between science and art has always played a key role in Vivian Torrence's work. In this light, her most famous endeavor was the 1993 exhibition and book (published by the Smithsonian Press) entitled, Chemistry Imagined. This was actually a collaboration between the Nobel laureate chemist, Roald Hoffmann, and the collage art of Vivian Torrence. Again, in an earlier work of art, Legend, both scientific and artistic methods of explaining our world are primary elements.

SOURCE - https://www.artoftheprint.com/artistpages/torrence_vivian_legend.htm (Oct 2025)