Dylan Collins

Dylan Collins was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in rural east central Illinois. He attended Eastern Illinois University and received both a BA in 2-D Studio Art in 1996 and an MA in Sculpture in 1997. Collins earned his MFA in Sculpture from Kent State University in 2003.

Since earning his MFA, he has held academic positions as Adjunct Instructor at Kent State University, Visiting Assistant Professor at Oberlin College, and Instructor of Studio Foundations at Southeast Missouri State University. In 2008, Collins joined the faculty of the School of Art and Design at West Virginia University as Visiting Assistant Professor and Sculpture Program Coordinator. He was promoted to the position of Assistant Professor and Sculpture Program Coordinator at WVU in 2014.

In his studio practice, Collins is particularly interested in fabrication techniques like sculptural blacksmithing and welding, as well as casting techniques using metal, plastic, and rubber. His studio work focuses on manipulating systems of classification and organization to draw attention to the complex relationship between organic bodies and the human made world. Recent exhibitions of Collins’s work include Pot Boiler at the Spartanburg Art Museum, Drawing Connections at the Boston Center for the Arts, Forged at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, Crossing the Line: Drawings by Sculptors at Buffalo State College’s Czurles-Nelson Gallery, Color Coded at Mississippi State University’s McComas Gallery, and Drawing Muchness at the University of North Florida Gallery of Art.