Alexis Neumann
About Me
Biography
Alexis Neumann is an artist, scholar, and curator creating work that engages Disability Studies, Theology, and Intersectionality through her interactive installations and mixed media art works. Her work focuses on interconnectedness, intricacy, and resiliency in the body and world to draw attention to the complexities of the human experience, often using bio-medical imagery and accessible materials like vinyl, copper wire, and plexiglass, as well as light and sound. She holds an MFA in Visual Studies and an MA in Critical Studies from the Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University, as well as degrees in Comparative History and Music from the University of Washington. She lives with multiple invisible illnesses including Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and platforms other artists with disabilities through her curation. She highlights the experience of disability and the unique knowledge and wisdom that it brings to people with similar life experiences and is passionate about advancing equity and sharing the realities of dynamic disability. Her work has been featured in light festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest as well as locally being awarded grants like the Precipice Fund from Portland Institute of Contemporary Art and exhibiting at SATOR Projects, the Center for Contemporary Art and Culture, 4Culture, and more. Alexis is now based in Long Beach, CA.
Artist Statement
My artistic practice is research-based, focusing on and celebrating complexity, intricacy and balance through light, sound, and installation art. I highlight the interconnectedness of the world within the body and soul influenced by music, nature, spirituality, technology, illness, and more, frequently utilizing networks, light, and biological imagery. I utilize materials accessible and sustainable for me, whether that be wire, moss, broken glass, medical supplies, or recycled plastic, to make not only my process an example of social justice but to also highlight the rebirth of materials and make work that is able to be large-scale and experiential. I’ve used a wide range of materials like recycled pill bottles to normalize the act of taking medicine and stained glass practices to engage a historical and traditional iconic art form that displays celestial forces.
Transparency, intricacy, dissonance and multiplicity of materials illuminates (oftentimes literally) challenging, complicated topics like biology, disability, or religion in an inviting and approachable way. My work is therapeutic and generative, building off of collaborative knowledge, creating extensive knots to parallel the pain and confusion of migraines or engaging the history and healing capabilities of moss. It is important for my work to be accessible in many different ways, so I engage multiple senses and make my art immersive and responsive to the viewer by using interactive technology.
Experimenting with ways of making is significant for my process because it references a deeply held belief of mine, that there is always something more to discover, learn about, and share. I combine recycled objects, translucent materials, wire, lights and sound to engage and reference mental, spiritual, natural, and anatomical processes. And I share my own journey with invisible illness and spirituality and use research and community conversations to include other voices. Research is deeply influential to my art as inspiration can take the form of so many things, but it frequently comes from science, light, medical knowledge, sound, and conversations with others.
Education
MFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art
MA from Pacific Northwest College of Art
BA from University of Washington
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Alexis Neumann has won awards and grants for her research. Her undergraduate education focuses on music, comparative history and cultural studies. Her graduate degrees focus on sculptural installation art, bioart, disability studies, cultural studies and comparative religious studies particularly in relation to art.
September 2019 - August 2022
Laura Russo Memorial Scholarship
PNCA Critical Studies Dual Degree Scholarship
Graduate Degrees:
M.F.A. in Visual Arts
M.A. in Critical Studies
September 2014Â - August 2018
B.A. in Comparative History of Ideas and American Music Studies
Certificate in Digital Experimental Arts and New Media
Mary Gates Honors Scholar
Undergraduate Research in the Arts and Humanities Award
Helen A. Reynolds Scholarship in Music
UW Seattle Purple and Gold Scholarship
Dean's List every quarter
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