Yva Neal, Installation Artist & Creative Radiator
Yva Neal (b.1973, England) is a creative radiator and one of Chicago’s leading installation artists.
Her 20-year career in product design, visual retail design and landscape design realizes a dense skill set matched only by her warmth and passion for her work.
Yva’s studio is located in the world-recognized Zhou B Art Center in Chicago’s Bridgeport Neighborhood.
Her current focus, creating awareness through interaction, stems from her forays into studying plant medicine and mycology.
Many of her pieces are experiential, from the fine art series of rock-stacking cradles inviting a Zen-like meditation to a “fun-art” mushroom themed inflatable bounce-house designed to allow adults to find their inner child through bouncing.
Small piles of fallen rocks lay on the floor of her studio, the Sparkle Womb, where she invites guests to become pregnant with possibility. “They’re here to teach,” she remarks.
Yva describes her influences with fervor, citing Salvador Dali for his diversity and his ability to blend literally everything about his surroundings into his work.
She’s been deeply moved by the work of Barbara Barry, Jim Henson, and from growing up in Central Florida: Walt Disney and his ability to meticulously craft thousands of acres.
Defying a label, genre, or classification Yva contends that she’s no one-trick pony and lives her art in everything she does from cooking to her participation in an Underground Chicago Arts Collective Community.
YVA seeks a life with enough time to connect with nature and the myriad of lessons surrounding us.
Full, immersive environments help access that inner child.
See beyond your surroundings into the surreal.
“Tell me your intentions and I’ll exceed your wildest expectations whether it is on a cheap and cheerful budget or a limitless one!”
“I approach fashion with the concept of empowerment.”
YVA-LUTION T-SHIRTS take your intentions and channels Spirit into a design.
HAPPILY YVA AFTER DRESSES teach women how to wrap themselves.
“What is your intention when wearing this garment
and how does it make you feel?
Everything you wear should embody
Love, Grace, Comfort, and Ease.”
.
Yva creates unique one-of–kind objects for your living space.
WAKA rock stacks teach balance and stability.
TACTILE paintings show universal truths of interconnectedness.
All work can stand alone or be modular to tell a LARGER story.
From vegetative murals with live plants to preserved moss walls that give the illusion of life, Yva brings a new awareness to the natural world.
She incorporates new technologies with her unique design style to share her love and understanding of nature.
“Plants teach us about ourselves
and the world around us.”
With ten years experience in landscaping design, Yva strives to bring nature and art together in the world.
Her approach to design is to create hardscapes that enhance the sculptural value of each plant.
These intentional footprints blend with the surroundings and are beautiful as well as functional.
Yva’s love of fungus comes from years of foraging and being educated by some of Illinois’ most knowledgeable mycologists.
She has come to believe that mushrooms can transform the Earth, your body and your mind.
She uses her art to educate people about these inSPOREational beings.
The juxtaposition of man-made and natural materials
creates unusual and memorable relationships
that are classic and timeless.
Recognizing each project has a potential to reveal its true divine nature, Yva Neal’s intuition leads her to create unique pieces of art.
