Meet Kristen

Kristen currently resides in nature near many lakes halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee. Growing up in the Midwest, after graduating from The University of Iowa with a Communications major, she began painting and creating collages in the evenings after work while sitting on her living room floor. Kristen’s artwork combines mixed materials, including acrylic and oil paint, pencil, paper, fabric and fragments of wood.

Selected exhibitions include James May Gallery in Milwaukee, WI; The Robert Wright Gallery of Art at College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL; The Saw Room Gallery in Evanston, IL; The Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Barnsdall Art Gallery in Los Angeles, and Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, and many art pop-up exhibitions in local businesses and libraries. She’s a member of Chicago Alliance of Visual Artists, Chicago Women’s Caucus for Art, Evanston Made, Adler Art Center and Woman Made Gallery. Each November, Kristen also curates the small and mighty Up North Art Pop-up Show.

Also skilled in image archiving, permissions and photo research, Kristen’s job experience includes Getty Images, Warner Bros. Entertainment Media Archives, and HMH Education.

My work is all about playing with time and materials. I don’t see history as something in the background—it’s right there in the mix, shaping every piece. I love collecting found objects—the forgotten, the tossed aside, the once-loved—and turning them into layered collages that feel like little portals. They’re not just something to look at; they’re invitations to step into different stories and rethink the past through the lens of now.

Every object has its own story, its own trace of human touch. When I put rusted metal next to faded photos or layer handwritten notes over industrial textures, I’m breaking away from straight-line storytelling. Instead, I want to create a sense that time overlaps—that past and present can exist together in one space.

For me, making art is like digging and building at the same time. It’s about exploring how memory works, how meaning stacks up, and how art can let us travel through time—not in a sci-fi way, but through the real echoes of what once was.

 -Kristen Neveu

Upcoming Art Events

Evanston Made Group Show at Great Harvest Bread, 2126 Central St., Evanston, IL - December 6-January 25

Waukegan Public Library Solo Show  - Waukegan, IL - December 27 - January 31, 2026

Adler Arts Center Artists Member Exhibition - Libertyville, IL - January 9-February 14

College of Lake County Robert T. Wright Community Gallery of Art Members Exhibition - Grayslake, IL - January 23-February 18

Featured Artist for Grayslake Arts Alliance at 3 Legged Coffee Brewing - Lindenhurst, IL - February 1-March 31

Chicago Alliance of Visual Art Group Show (CAVA) - Mana Contemporary Chicago - March 1-28