Vessna Scheff

Vessna Scheff is a visual and performing artist with a Masters in Art from the Rhode Island School of Design. She has recently relocated to Philadelphia from the San Francisco Bay Area and developed an artistic practice that breathes visuals into vocal runs for immersive performances, installations, watercolors and recordings. Her artwork explores the relationships between watercolors, texture and sound, culminating in a series of visual collections and a debut album released October 18th, 2024. Her work has found home in public and private collections across the U.S. and internationally. She has been an Artist-in-Residence with Pratt>FORWARD, Mass MoCA, Glen Foerd, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, alongside teaching at Penland School of Craft and Brown University.

 

I’m Vessna Scheff and I create with mark-making, color, and sound. Through music and watercolor, I tell stories of resilience, strategy, beauty, community, and love. Celebrating the unsung histories- personally and socially- is at the core of my family story and artistic practice—especially those that often go unheard.

 

I explore the connections between sound and movement, color and rhythm, breath and brushstroke. Though people often describe both watercolors and Black life with words like “difficult” and “uncontrollable,” I see the fluid nature in my work as an embrace of inner freedom.

 

In my practice, movement is central and pushes against the desire to control and instead, to appreciate the swell, the pour; the beat, the splash; the hit, the mark; the tone, the texture—even if they are just for us, and for just a moment. These moments, we hold forever.

 

If you’re interested in exploring art in a way that values freedom, emotion, connection, and personal voice as critical components of grounded artistic living, I’d love to share this journey with you.

 

Instagram: @vessnascheff