Kayla Jeane

Kayla Jeane (b. 1991) makes paintings, drawings, and sculptures that merge the psychological, the anatomical, and the botanical. She gravitates towards iconic images - bones, DNA strands, flora and fauna - drawn in bold black outlines. The symbols often spread across a whole page, suggesting a private system of hieroglyphics. Jeane also builds ceramic sculptures in collaboration with plants, designed to be covered by vines and leaves growing from within. Much of this work ties into an overarching project called “the psychedelic garden”, a personal exploration of consciousness and nature.

The artist’s interest in the growing world was informed by working for environmental organizations like the Agraria Center for Regenerative Practice. Jeane says, “You need to think about the whole ecosystem, and work with an environment rather than against it,” - words that can also apply to an artistic community. Currently, Jeane does curation and marketing for Haz Cooperative Studio, a group designed to help BIPOC artists gain access to essential resources. 

Jeane was born in Pittsburgh and spent her childhood in Columbus, Ohio. She came to Chicago at the age of eighteen to attend Columbia College, where she was drawn to the link between art and therapy. “Art really saved me,” she says, referring to dark periods of her young life. Jeane now lives in Hyde Park, with her two children and an “aggressively affectionate” cat that destroys all her pothos.