Shana Nys Dambrot
Brandi Milne’s paintings combine a glossy candy-coated aesthetic with a core of the mind’s darker depths. Her unique, self-taught brand of surrealism derives from the collision of her own childhood memories of joy, fear, curiosity, love, loss and wild imagination with the 70’s pop culture atmosphere of growing up in Anaheim in the shadow of Disneyland. Within still-recognizable characters from fairy tales and cartoons reconceived and recombined into more esoteric, adultish scenarios, Milne also merges fanciful palettes with thoughtfully inventive compositions. The results celebrate the enduring, evolving personality of the inner child along with the shifting emotional perspectives on our upbringings that inevitably come with time. Milne’s newest work is currently on view at Corey Helford Gallery through December 3.
Brandi Milne: Everything I Ever Was (Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery)
L.A. WEEKLY: When did you first know you were an artist?
BRANDI MILNE: I knew I was an artist at a very young age ─ at least I knew art was different for me and I wanted to spend hours improving my skills, with the elusive image in mind.
What is your short answer to people who ask what your work is about?
My work is a self-portrait. A whimsical, peculiar expression of life, emotion, and thought.
What would you be doing if you weren’t an artist?
I’d like to think I’d be a photographer or a master of interior design.
Brandi Milne: Please Tell me Who I Am (Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery)
Did you go to art school? Why/Why not?
I did not go to art school, which allowed my art and style to develop organically. I was naturally dedicated to my art and in turn, my art has been dedicated to me.
Why do you live and work in L.A., and not elsewhere?
I grew up in Orange County and live there today. The art scene in Los Angeles is eclectic and widely varying, far different than the art in my county (seascapes, dolphins, and such) and my art found its place in L.A.
When was your first show?
My first solo exhibition was in 2007 with Corey Helford Gallery, but my very first group art showing was in 2004.
Brandi Milne: (Madness) Everything That Ever Was
When is/was your current/most recent/next show or project?
My new solo exhibition, Everything I Ever Was, just opened on October 29 at the gorgeous Corey Helford Gallery in downtown Los Angeles, and will be on view through December 3. This new body of work expresses my full range of humanness in a surreal character-based, fantastical world. I’m so excited to finally share these works, which I’ve been dedicated to for the past three years!
What artist living or dead would you most like to show or work with?
I’d love to work with Salvador Dalí, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, or Phyllis Diller.
Brandi Milne: Banshee (Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery)
Do you listen to music while you work? If so, what?
Music is my biggest inspiration! I listen to TOOL, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Billie Eilish, Warpaint, Wet Leg, some disco (Donna Summer), lots of Frank Sinatra, Beethoven, opera, a dash of Snoop Dogg, 90s hip hop, and tons of Delta blues and classic rock. Music is life, it puts motion to my emotions and spirit, which helps me tune into what I’m feeling and thinking, and convey in image form. I’m so very grateful for music and musicians.
Website and social, please!
@brandimilne on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube.
Brandi Milne: A Story As Old As Time (Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery)
Brandi Milne: In My Dreams Nightly Mirror Mirror (Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery)
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