Yasmin Spiro

Yasmin Spiro (she/her) is a Jamaican artist, living and working in Chicago. Spiro’s work is multi-disciplinary, primarily based in sculpture and immersive installation, with video, drawing, and performance—exploring issues of land and the environment, cultural identity, and socio-economic issues within the framework of architecture, personal history, spirituality, and, memory—often through the lens of Caribbean culture. Much of the work is textile based, burlap, rope, and felt, with integrated cast elements of plaster, ceramic, and cement—creating forms that often reference vernacular architecture, and the knowledge and memory that's held in those structures, as well as the history embedded in craft and making. Spiro attended Pratt Institute and has held residencies at the Hyde Park Art Center, The Dora Maar Foundation in France, The Kohler Arts and Industry residency, Vermont Studio Center, and the Hatch Chicago Artist Coalition residency. Her work was recently exhibited at the Arts Club of Chicago, The Tapestry Alliance of America, and has a current solo installation/exhibition Cornerstone at the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago. 

Jackman Goldwasser Residency, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago (2023); Dora Maar Fellowship and Residency, Dora Maar, Menerbes, France (2021); Kohler Arts and Industry Residency, Kohler, WI (2019); Hatch Residency, Chicago Artists Coalition (2018); Artist Fellowship, The Vermont Studio Center (2004); Pratt Merit Award (1999); Pratt Presidential Award (1999)

"Beyond: Tapestry Expanded," American Tapestry Alliance, catalog, 2024; Luxe Magazine (2024); "Yasmin Spiro’s Latest Installation in Chicago Fosters Community," Groundation, Interior Design, 2023; "TOP V. WEEKEND PICKS," Edge of Time, Bad at Sports, 2020; Beyond Fashion, Pree Lit, Rachael Barrett, 2019; "Delicate Decolonial Dreams: A Review of “Leaf by Leaf” at Chicago Artists Coalition," Newcity, Kerry Cardoza, 2018; "“Leaf by Leaf” at the Chicago Artist Coalition," Sixty Inches From Center, Christina Nafziger, 2018; "TOP V. WEEKEND PICKS," Leaf by Leaf, Bad at Sports, 2018; "Land of Beauty," Despair, Washington Times, Karen Goldberg Goff, 2006; "New Possessions: Jamaican Artists in the U.S.," Art Museum of the Americas, catalog, 2006; Parallel Practices, ARTnews, 2005

Solo/Two-Person Exhibitions: Cornerstone, Hyde Park Arts Center, Chicago, IL, 2025; Groundation, Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2023; Creal Micro Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI, 2022; Dawtas | Mirror, Mirror performance project, Hyde Park Art Center, 2021; Autoethnography, with Rim Lee, Heaven Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2021; Edge of Time, FLXST Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2020; Parallel Practices, with Roberto Visani, curated by Sara Reisman, RogerSmithArts, New York, NY, 2005; Deracinate, MFA Solo Thesis Show, Steuben East Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, 2003

Selected Group Exhibitions: Legacy as Lexicon, a Stand-in for my Voice, curated by Lauren Leving, Goldfinch Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2025; What Material Do I Want to Be?, The Franklin, Chicago, IL, 2025; Tapestry Expanded, curated by Erica Warren, American Tapestry Alliance, IN, 2024; SUMMER CHOICE, curated by Nuria Richards, Feria Clandestina, Miami, FL, 2022; Textures, curated by S.Y. Lim, Mana Contemporary Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2022; Alma, Led by Thread, Chicago, IL, 2022; Alma 30, Chicago, IL, 2021; Sum of Unity, curated by Samuel Levi Jones, Herron School of Art and Design, IN, 2021; SWAB Barcelona Art Fair, Clandestina, Barcelona, ES, 2020; Petty Biennial Part II, NYCH Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2020; Reaching for the Horizon, Antenna Gallery, New Orleans, LA, 2020; The Petty Biennial, Glass Curtain Gallery, NYCH Gallery + Heaven Gallery, curated by Sabrina Greig, Adia Sykes, Courtney Citron, Chicago, IL, 2019; Port of Call, curated by Ahmed Ozsever, Chicago Art Department, 2019; Form Without Plan, curated by Greg Ruffing, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL, 2019; Marvin Bartley, Kereina Chang-Fatt, The Girl and The Magpie, Jessica Ogden, Ebony G. Patterson, Alfredo Piola, Ayana Rivière, Peter Dean Rickards, Jasmine Thomas-Girvan, Phillip Thomas, Seymour Lewis, and Cosmo Whyte, Beyond Fashion, curated by O'Neil Lawrence, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, JM, 2018; Dawtas performance with Jamila Regan, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL, 2018; Leaf by Leaf, curated by Sabrina Greig, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL, 2018; Taking Shapes, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL, 2016; Beg, Borrow or Steal, Recess Arts, Brooklyn, NY, 2015; Vanessa Agard-Jones, Becca Albee, Firelei Báez, Kelly Baker Josephs, Blackgold Dancers, Jayson Keeling, Kaiama Glover, Devin Kenny, and Legacy Russell, Be Black Baby, curated by Simone Leigh, Recess Art, Brooklyn, NY, 2011; tART @ A.I.R. Gallery, Dumbo, NY, 2010; Model Home, curated by Nico Wheadon, Roger Smith Gallery, New York, NY, 2010; Close Encounters Contemporary Art by Caribbean Women, commissioned installation, Florida Gulf Coast University, Lee County, FL, 2010; Drawings in Multiples and Singular Sculpture, Five Myles Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, 2007; 20/20, Chelsea Galleria, Miami, FL, 2006; New Possessions, curated by Sarah Clunis, Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC, 2006; tART Spring Salon Show and Benefit for Creative Time, New York, NY, 2006; The Best of The Lab Roger Smith Arts, Yellowbird Gallery, Newburgh, NY, 2006; Art Basel Satellite Event, OmniArt 05, Miami, FL, 2005; No Country is an Island: Issues of Freedom and Diaspora in Caribbean Art, Raritan Valley Community College Gallery, Branchburg, NJ, 2005; Momenta Art Benefit, Momenta, New York, NY, 2005

Yasmin Spiro was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, and currently lives and works in Chicago. Her multidisciplinary practice centers on sculpture and immersive installations, incorporating video, drawing, and performance to explore cultural identity and socio-economic issues within the context of urban development. These themes are often examined through the lens of Caribbean culture, specifically Jamaica, where she was born and grew up.

Spiro’s work investigates concepts related to architecture and urbanism, socio-economics, futuristic cities, craft, and culture. Her research is layered with personal narratives tied to the landscapes and cultural heritage of Jamaica. Much of her practice is textile-based, connecting deeply to personal history, memories, and craft traditions. She also incorporates casting techniques using materials such as plaster, ceramic, and cement to create architectural elements that reference both futurism and femininity in the built environment.

Through a synthesis of personal and cultural history, conceptual research, and material experimentation, Spiro’s studio practice weaves layered stories that explore the intricate connections between body, land, the built environment, and nature. She has exhibited internationally and her work has been featured in publications including ARTnews, Interior Design, NewCity, The Washington Times, and The Miami Herald. Spiro attended Pratt Institute.