Scott VanderVoort is a New York-based artist whose work broadly explores themes of impermanence, beauty and the ambiguous divide between art and the mundane. VanderVoort works in both two and three dimensions, with paint, sculpture and installation, and through his art engages viewers in an often playful dialogue about the process by which objects, images and spaces acquire meaning. Whether working with found objects like stone blocks from Bali or the walls of New York City elevator shafts, VanderVoort’s work often involves the process, in his words, of “activating space, place and objects to bring life to what has seemingly been overlooked or disregarded.” 

For the past two decades, VanderVoort’s professional work has spanned across disciplines including industrial design, interior design, exhibition design and architectural design programs. He has worked on and designed large scale projects for both temporary and permanent installations from a large toy store in Los Angeles to temporary store fronts in Times Square. 

In 2010, VanderVoort founded LIFTnewyork, an organization that brings together architects, developers, artists and designers to engage viewers in a larger dialogue about our sense of space, motion and meaning.

A passionate teacher on art and design, VanderVoort has served for two decades as a professor in Pratt Institute’s Industrial Design department, where he has taught on color, form and space. In 2017, during a stay in Bali, Indonesia, he helped developed a curriculum in design for BambooU, an educational platform for designers, artists and architects. A bamboo pavilion he designed and built with his students was accepted for display in Times Square for New York’s Design Week in 2020. His lectures on abstract form-making have taken him to Brazil, South Korea, China and Indonesia.

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Bali influences a deep examination of his art and practice. He values his role as an artist in creating projects and ideas that promote the importance of cultural preservation and protecting the art of making by the hands. His artworks balance and celebrate beauty, spirituality and community.  

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VanderVoort earned a BA in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute in 1998. He currently lives and works in New York City.