ABOUT
“The art of Lia Chavez explores the elusive triggers and effects of creativity.”
—The Wall Street Journal
Through her multifaceted, performance-based practice, American artist Lia Chavez is known for crafting unforgettable encounters which explore the phenomenology of light, illumination, and their impact on our lives and inmost creative selves. In her rigorous pursuit of physical light’s connection to the inner creative spark, she has created art across a vast array of disciplines, influenced technology, and pioneered the science of human consciousness as art. In each of her artworks, she chooses the medium that best magnifies her subject. The scale of her work can vary from a simple photograph to a dynamic biofeedback environment enabled by trailblazing technology. Lia combines the ephemeral and physical and the ancient and futuristic in her meticulous distillation of how humans encounter the boundless essence of all things.
Her work with light and perception is hailed as “mesmerizing” (The New York Times), “incredibly profound” (Whitewall Magazine), and “stunning” (Artnet News).
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. Prior to Goldsmiths, Lia 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.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2023 | Replenish, The List Visual Arts Center at MIT, Boston MA
2007 | Shot and Go: A Vision of Today’s International Photography, co-presented by Light on San Servolo and the Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
2007 | Nightcomers, Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey
2009 | Visual Deflections, Old Truman Brewery, London, United Kingdom
2009 | Hillman + Chavez, co-presented by The Armory Show and Affirmation Arts, Affirmation Arts, New York, NY
2010 | Entwined, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA
2013 | The Armory Show Summer Celebration, Presented by The Armory Show, Sag Harbor, NY
2014 | Light Fantastic, House of the Nobleman, London, United Kingdom
2014 | Tumult, House of the Nobleman, London, United Kingdom
2014 | Luminous Objects, Spring/Break Art Show, New York, NY
2014 | Carceri, Two Rams, New York, NY
2015 | Inaugural Celebration, Grace Farms, New Canaan, CT