Vanessa Filley was born in New York City in 1975.  She received her BA from Oberlin College and spent her early career investigating human rights violations in prisons and jails.  Instead of following her intention to go to law school, she founded a clothing company of one of a kind wear made from recycled fabrics. Her practice quickly evolved through the honing of her craft into mixed-media fine arts. Her work ranges from large scale sculptural installations to tiny embroidery pieces to poems and photographs.  Her photographic work allows her to designs scenes, make costumes and conjure a certain sense of emotion and place. She is inspired by how history and memory shapes who we are in the present. In June of 2018 she completed a two month residency at the Frances Willard House Museum. She has been showing work, and has won a number of juror’s awards, throughout the US and internationally since 2015. In 2016 she was one of Photolucida’s Top 200. In 2018 she was one of Photolucida’s Top 50. She lives and works in Evanston, Il.

If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image from my photography page, please contact me directly.  Images are available in 12X18 and 20X30 inches in editions of 10 to 25 (depending on the image) in archival pigment prints. 

Solo and Two Person Shows

2023 In The Delicate Meshes, Vivid Gallery, Winnetka, IL

2022 Homing Maps, Open Studio Project, Evanston, IL

2020 Possibility of Multitudes, Bekanze, Miami, FL

2019 Possibility of Multitudes, The Saw Room Gallery, Evanston, IL

2019 Voices of Resistance, Perspective Gallery, Evanston, IL

2019 Flight Plan, 942 Pitner Warehouse, Evanston, IL

2018 #MeToo Series, Western Michigan Univ., Grand Rapids, MI

2017 A Nursery Rhyme for You, Perspective Gallery, Evanston, IL

2016 Ghost Immemorial Morpho Gallery Chicago, IL

Select Group Shows

2023 Affordable Art Fair with Arbor3Arts New York, NY

2022 Feminism,Art&Power Museum of Sonoma County SantaRosa,CA

2021 Truth Telling Nashville Public Library Nashville, TN

2021 IMAGE NATIONGalerie Joseph Turenne Paris, France

2021 Berlin Photography Week BBA Gallery Berlin, Germany

2021 LENSCRATCH The Artist Intervenes Virtual

2020 Arbor3Arts Gallery Artist Show Three Oaks, MI

2020 U.S. SAUDI ART EXHIBIT, US Consulate General, Jeddah

2019 #MeToo Series, Lishui Intl Photo Festival, China

2019 Truth as a Contested Concept, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago

2019 Great Circle Distance Tete Project Space Berlin, Germany

2019 In Search of Beauty, Fotofestival Lenzburg, Switerzerland

2019 LensCulture Art Photo Aperture Gallery New York

2019 Mother F-Stop Sample Gallery Chapel Hill, NC

2019 Postcard Salon, Jarvis Dooney Berlin, Germany

2018 #MeToo Series Yixian Intl Photo Festival Yixian, China

2018 #MeToo Series Lang Jingshan Photo Biennale Huai’an, China

2018 RISE! Gutfreund Cornett Art Los Gatos, CA

2018 Focus PhotoLA Les Rencontres de la Photographie Arles, France

2018 It’s Time! OC CTR for Contemporary Art Santa Ana, CA.

2018 ArtBox Project Stricoff Gallery New York, NY

2018 Portfolio Show ATL Photo Group Gallery Atlanta, GA

2017 Creative Process PhotoPlace Gallery Middlebury, VT

2017 Chervinsky Finalist Show Griffin Museum Winchester, MA

2017 Open Call, Providence CTR for Photo Arts Providence, RI

2017 Red Show SE CTR for Photography Greenville, SC

2017 Focus PhotoLA Finalist PHOTO LA Los Angeles, CA

2016 Vanitas Show, Loosen Art Gallery Calgliari, Italy

2016 Dreams Show, Ctr for Fine Art Photography Fort Collins, CO

2016 Developed Work Show, Midwest CTR for Photography Wichita, KS

2016 A Sense of Place, PhotoPlace Gallery Middlebury, VT

2016 Habitat Show A Smith Gallery Johnson City, TX

2016 Artificial Turf Platform Evanston, IL

2016 Seities & Selves, Darkroom Gallery Essex Junction, VT

2015 Color Show Blackbox Gallery Portland, OR

Publications

5th International Photography Annual, Published By Manifest Gallery, 2017.

Shots Magazine, no. 132, Summer 2016.

Illumine Magazine, Vol.3 No.1 Fall 2015.

GreenMama: Giving Your Child a Healthy Start and a Greener Future, 2014.

Prizes/Honors

12th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, Honorable Mention 2018.

Lensculture Art Photography Awards Finalist 2018.

Photolucida Critical Mass Top 50 2018.

Midwest Center For Photography, Developed Work, People’s Choice Award, 2016.

Photolucida Critical Mass Top 200 2016. 

Center for Fine Art Photography, Juror’s Award, Dreams Show, November 2016. Juror Jennifer De Carlo.

A. Smith Gallery, Habitat Show, Juror’s Award, August 2016.  Juror Julie Blackmon.

Morpho Gallery, 11th Annual Juried Photography Exhibition Winner, 2016.

Residencies

Picture Berlin, Berlin, Germany. October-November 2018.

Frances Willard House Museum, Evanston, IL. May-June 2018.

Grants

Evanston Arts Council, May 2018.