“Chavez mines the magic of light, and filters it through experiments in new technology, the embrace of the mystical and subconscious, and an inclusive feminist aesthetic lens.”
— Whitewall Magazine
“While countless artists and inventors have tapped into the subconscious using meditation, Chavez is taking the idea a step further by exploring how human consciousness, including her own, can itself become an art material.”
—The Wall Street Journal
Lia has been the subject of exhibitions in numerous major institutions and venues, including the Venice Biennale, the Istanbul Biennial, and the Tate. Alongside renowned neuroscientists at Goldsmiths College, she has made groundbreaking contributions to the neuroscience of creativity and visionary experience. She is the recipient of major commissions from the Armory Show, Art Production Fund, Isabella Rossellini, and more. She has lectured widely, presenting keynotes on her artwork at the Creative Time Summit, The Wall Street Journal Future of Everything Festival, and the University of Oxford, among others.
From the ancient history of botanical sciences and herbology to the frontiers of neuroscience, Lia’s life work is still guided by mystical visions of light she has experienced since she was a child. As remarked upon by The Wall Street Journal, Lia’s work seeks to “help answer a question that has eluded researchers for decades: What does the creative spark look like in the brain?”
She holds a Master of Philosophy in Visual Art and a Master’s Degree in Photography from Goldsmiths College, University of London, and was a Fellow in Visual Cultures and Feminist Aesthetics at the University of Oxford.
Lia is the founder of Hildegaard, a luxury creative house dedicated to reverence for Nature’s example of commingling light, matter, and spirit.
For the past decade, she has helped lead a performance-based research venture on the neuroscience of creativity at Goldsmiths College and Queen Mary at the University of London, where she creates groundbreaking research on visionary experience.
Her work has been shown internationally, including at the Venice Biennale, the Istanbul Biennial and the Tate. She is the recipient of major commissions from the Armory Show and Art Production Fund and has lectured widely, including keynotes on her art at The Wall Street Journal Future of Everything Festival, the University of Oxford, the Creative Time Summit.