Lilia is a Ukrainian-American visual artist, entrepreneur, and innovator who has pioneered a new form of artistic expression using proprietary vision-tracking software. She elevates the abstract expressionism movement by painting with her eyes. Instead of using a paintbrush, she subverts the process of hand-eye coordination, pushing pixels around in a more immediate and intimate way. Lilia then translates her work from the digital realm into wearable collections that bring her art into everyday life.

Working alongside a team, Lilia carefully designs each piece, selecting materials, prints, shapes, and patterns to ensure her artwork is beautifully transformed into scarves, jewelry, accessories, and apparel. She stands at the forefront of innovation, having pioneered her own vision-tracking software and studied at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts, all in pursuit of pushing creative possibilities further.

Her work has gained recognition through collaborations with brands like BILLY Footwear and Trexo Robotics, premier shows like NY NOW and One of a Kind at the Mart, popups at the de Young Museum Artwear Show and Randolph Street Market, and accolades such as the Innovation & Impact Trailblazer Award. As an advocate for inclusivity in art and fashion, Lilia’s journey inspires artists of all abilities.

FROM VISION TO REALITY

Learn more about Lilia’s process, inspiration and selected works.

INSPIRATION AS AN ARTIST

Lilia’s journey in art began as a way to express emotions and ideas that words could not convey. Using innovative technology, she creates breathtaking abstract works, commanding colors, textures, and patterns with her eyes. She draws inspiration from the world around her: a nighttime firework display at Disneyland inspired Disney at Night, an abstract spectacle that bursts into existence on the ebony canvas of the night. An exhibition by Yayoi Kusama inspired Molecular Activity, where patterns emerge, circle upon circle, in a rhythmic motif that marries the scientific with the spiritual.

Lilia spends many hours layering her digital art with various colors, shapes, and effects until she feels it is complete. As demonstrated by the evolving variations of Geometric Play, her art transforms and evolves along a creative journey, often producing multiple unique works of art along the way. If the eyes are the window to the soul, then Lilia reveals hers through every piece she creates.

Like Ukrainian artists before her who have fought oppression, Lilia fights to overcome the physical limitations caused by her disability to create her art. The vibrant abstractions of Maria Primachenko and the bold shapes of Sonia Delaunay have inspired her aesthetics and strengthened her artistic voice. Primachenko’s declaration, “I have created a new kind of beauty, an abstract beauty of forms and colors that is alive with rhythm and movement,” resonates deeply with the ethos behind Visual Symphony, an abstract embodiment of an orchestral experience that Lilia captured not in notes and timbres, but in color, form, and texture. Embracing Primachenko’s conviction that “Art is a language that transcends words and speaks directly to the heart,” Lilia finds her voice in the silent poetry of her creations.

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Lilia also drew inspiration from Walt Disney. A middle school visit to the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco’s Presidio left a lasting impression. She learned that Disney was not only an artist but also an entrepreneur, inventor, and collaborator. His invention of “storyboarding” and his collaboration with Salvador Dalí opened Lilia’s eyes to the possibilities available to a visionary artist. This inspired her to host her first art exhibit while still in middle school, displaying works she created by hand before vision-tracking technology became available to her. From that moment, she knew she wanted a future in art. Since her voice is not available as a method of expression, creating art remains essential to her emotional well-being.

FORMATION AS AN ARTIST

Lilia’s path to art began as a search for a way to speak beyond the limits of her body. That journey led her to her early instructor and mentor, who provided formal education and practical training during her secondary school years. Under the guidance of Professor Jason Hopkins (MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago), Lilia studied art history, immersed herself in the work of major artists and their influences, and mastered digital software that allowed her to gain visual command of vision-tracking technology. Hopkins writes:


“Her works hearken to abstract expressionists like Pollock and de Kooning, exhibiting a personal, improvisational emotional experience that champions the non-representational through nontraditional means. But unlike her predecessors working in a tactile world, Lilia’s spontaneous action and color-field painting is entirely digital—made not by hand, but by eye. In this way, she subverts the process of hand-eye coordination, ‘willing’ her colors, textures, and patterns into being, pushing pixels around like finger paints in a psychologically more immediate and intimate way. She is a virtual pioneer, championing the liberties of the creative soul while romantically defying disability and torpor.”

Now at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), Lilia has found an innovation playground. One of the pillars of the BFA Arts program is to foster an environment where experimentation is not only welcomed but expected. CalArts encourages artists to move freely between disciplines, to question materials, and to imagine new forms for their ideas. Within this creative laboratory, Lilia is extending her abstract language beyond the screen, translating her eye-painted works into textiles, sculpture, installation, and fashion.

Most recently, she presented two solo exhibitions at CalArts, Somatic Configurations and Enchanted Abstract Forest, which explored how her expressive marks transform across mediums such as silk, clay, stained glass, and light. These projects reflect her growing vision: an art practice that is tactile, immersive, and deeply human, inviting audiences to experience color and movement as something to be worn, touched, and lived.

In Somatic Configurations, Lilia displayed a selection of her iconic abstract works on illuminated cube sculptures of varying sizes, transforming the space into a vibrant, ever-shifting installation. Viewers were encouraged to direct their own perception of Lilia’s art by changing the color of the light radiating from each cube. This created an opportunity to explore color and light as tools for emotional reflection. The audience could shift the mood and meaning of the work through these light waves, revealing feelings of warmth, calm, energy, or unease. This sensory regulation echoed the calming techniques Lilia uses during her digital art process, making the exhibit not only meditative but also collaborative, blurring the line between artist and audience.

Enchanted Abstract Forest offered an immersive experience in which each tree became a portal of emotion, memory, and imagination. At its heart was Lilia’s ongoing artistic experiment: a deep exploration of how her expressive abstract art transforms across mediums. Her artwork appeared across silk fabric, clay, stained glass, paper, plastic, and light—each material offering a new lens through which to experience color, texture, and mood.

Towering six-foot metal trees shimmered with twinkle lights, illuminating mulberry silk printed with her vibrant designs. A clay tree sculpture was adorned with stained glass talismans featuring her signature abstract art. Small clay figurines gathered like quiet guardians among the branches and at the tree’s base. Illuminated cubes printed with her artwork cast soft glows, and viewers could change the color scheme with the touch of a button. Footprints on the floor guided visitors deeper into this magical forest where abstraction lives and breathes. Importantly, the exhibit was fully wheelchair accessible, proudly marked with the universal accessibility symbol—reminding us that creativity must be a place where everyone belongs.

INNOVATIONS AS AN ENTREPRENUER

Lilia is on the cutting edge of innovation, pioneering her own vision-tracking software to expand creative possibilities. She is currently collaborating with a software engineer to design a proprietary digital art platform that offers more features and a user-friendly visual interface. Not only will this help her elevate her own work, but it also promises to revolutionize art technology.

Lilia Munn™ holds three provisional patents for its jewelry-making process, which are now being converted into final patents. This proprietary process makes Lilia’s jewelry truly one-of-a-kind, merging abstract art with fashion-forward accessories. She is continuously exploring new methods of jewelry design with her team and ways to transform her abstract art practice into gallery-level jewelry.

PROCESS AND PRODUCTS

Lilia is a unique artist because Rett Syndrome has left her unable to walk, talk, or use her hands functionally. She creates her artwork independently with her eyes, and her team collaborates with her to translate that work into wearable art. She selects product designs, materials, colors, shapes, and textures, and the team helps to bring her vision to life.

Beginning with jewelry, Lilia has designed several collections that her team hand-assembles with care and intention. Each piece features thoughtfully selected elements of her abstract artwork, highlighting its detail, movement, and intricacy on a wearable scale. Spanning sterling silver, gold, leather, and stainless steel, these designs range from playful and colorful to refined and elevated, each collection offering a distinct expression of Lilia’s art.

Lilia’s signature, evergreen collection is her Silk Scarves Collection, crafted from premium mulberry silk to showcase her artwork in a luminous, luxurious format. Soft, fluid, and endlessly versatile, these scarves can be styled countless ways, transforming everyday outfits into wearable works of art.

Lilia has expanded her practice into premium apparel design with the Casual Couture Collection, featuring elevated everyday wear created to move through life as boldly as art itself. Inspired by the heat, color, and creative electricity of Los Angeles, each piece is designed to evoke that moment of transformation when you step into a braver, brighter version of yourself.

Designed around three vibrant matching sets, each look features signature marks pulled directly from Lilia’s abstract paintings, translating her visual language into clean silhouettes and wearable statement pieces. The result is effortless but elevated: bold color, art-forward detail, and comfort you can live in.

Lilia also debuted her Athleisure Collection, designed for everyday wear while embracing the living bold ethos. Featuring yoga leggings and padded sports bras printed with her iconic artwork, this collection blends comfort, color, and vibrant design, allowing for seamless incorporation into everyday looks.

COLLABORATIONS AND COMMUNITY

With the support of her team, Lilia promotes her brand through social media, markets, trade shows, collaborations, and philanthropy. She maintains an active presence on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, where she engages with customers and fans of Lilia’s Eye Candy.

Lilia recently showcased her wearable art at the NY NOW trade show, where she was honored with the Innovation and Impact Trailblazer Award, a recognition celebrating brands that redefine creative boundaries and social possibility. The award highlighted not only the originality of her designs, but the groundbreaking way her art is created and translated into fashion.

Her work continues to gain visibility on prominent cultural stages. This year, Lilia has been invited to exhibit at the de Young Museum Artwear Show, a premier platform for artists shaping the future of wearable design. She will also present at the Merchandise Mart One of a Kind Show, where she joins a select group of established artists recognized for exceptional craftsmanship and artistic vision.

Lilia’s growing influence has led to meaningful brand collaborations. In March 2024, BILLY Footwear launched the Lilia’s Eye Candy x BILLY Classic D|R II High Tops, featuring her Visual Symphony artwork, a design that quickly became a bestseller. Trexo Robotics has also spotlighted Lilia’s journey, sharing powerful moments of her walking in a Trexo Robotic Exoskeleton while wearing her BILLY shoes and Visual Symphony silk scarf, an image that embodies her mission to unite art, technology, and human resilience.

Lilia regularly donates products to support disability advocacy and Rett Syndrome research, contributing to events such as Reverse Rett Philadelphia, the Disability Rights California Gala, the ASCEND Rett Syndrome National Summit, and Strollathon SoCal. She has also led cause-based promotions through Lilia’s Eye Candy, donating a portion of sales to organizations supporting individuals with Rett Syndrome and other disabilities.

Ultimately, Lilia hopes that the way she overcomes obstacles and produces art inspires others to be resilient and live boldly.