Another of our headline artists is Ryan Neil. Ryan is a bonsai professional, visual artist, and entrepreneur who is redefining the world’s understanding of bonsai from a technical hobby to a fine art medium. His approach reflects the interdependent relationships between nature, culture, and the individual.
Born and raised in Western Colorado, Neil’s character was carved by the harsh climate of the Rockies and by an unprecedented 6 year apprenticeship with world-renowned bonsai master, Masahiko Kimura.
In 2010, Ryan Neil returned from his apprenticeship in Japan to Portland, OR with a drive to elevate bonsai as an respected art-form. To accomplish this, he founded Bonsai Mirai - an epicenter for bonsai - a place where people could come and see the highest quality work being produced on a daily basis. He sought to build a community of ceramicists, woodworkers, artists, and creatives working together to advance and explore this living art form.
What started as an ambition has expanded into an ‘American Bonsai Movement,’ focused particularly in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Due to Ryan Neil’s vision and efforts, a collective exploration has swept the Pacific Northwest, with individuals utilizing the power of bonsai to reconnect to their native environments.
Ryan Neil’s mission is to establish a new era in bonsai, where compositions reflect the vast array of landscapes and cultures that are formed in their midst. His numerous exhibitions have ignited controversy, expanded the public’s understanding of bonsai, and inspired many to take up the artform.
Artistically, Neil plays with context to challenge the viewer to think about the tree, themselves, and the creation as a culmination of experiences and outside forces shaping every element of design. As his work evolves and the impact of the compositions expand, his ambitions and understanding of bonsai’s power to reconnect people to the landscape only grows stronger and more fluent.
Entering his 7th year as a bonsai professional, Ryan Neil is just beginning to push the limit of bonsai design, tapping into the art form’s ability to converse with viewers near and far. Through the inherently collaborative nature of Neil’s work, he and his team are joining with craftsmen, designers, photographers, scientists, and creative visionaries across the world to rethink the environment for community-oriented, artistic engagement. With Ryan Neil’s impact, the world is only just beginning to understand bonsai’s full potential, as a vehicle for cultural, personal, and environmental transformation.
