SHOW DESCRIPTION:
“Good Luck, Have Fun by strawberriemilk is a detonation of color and contrast reminiscent of a virtual or augmented reality experience. Featuring airbrush paintings composed in the Virgin Islands throughout 2023-2024 with compositions inspired by snapshot-visions from personal experiences living in the Caribbean, an impossibly organic seeming, late-nineties video game aesthetic formulates a varied array of complexly layered spray productions on panel, evoking hints of digital image, nature, cartoon fantasy, and industrial aesthetic. Panel frames are of uniquely enhanced depths, giving every work a robust physical presence. Viewers are met with a familiarity of tropical landscape drenched in cyberpunk surprise.” -The curators, 81C, September 2024
ARTIST STATEMENT
“Good Luck, Have Fun is heavily influenced by my experiences this past year in St. Croix. I taught myself a way of airbrush painting that created an entirely new formula for my process. The imagery is derived from fleeting moments of appreciation for naturally occurring compositions that life presented.
Each painting began as an ah-ha moment where I thought, “so sick” and took a pic. I used Illustrator to draw on top of the photos as a method of digitally distorting them until they worked as reference images to paint from. The digital drawing is actually the fluid part of the process, the rest involves very technical applications of paint.
I have always had a love for digital aesthetics in painting. I imagine scenes through the lens of this abstract world in which everything is voluminous, plump, and colorful. Truly though, the decision to abstract in this way is not that deep, I just find it funny and pleasant to look at. Humor has always had a place in my work, across all mediums and styles I explore.
This series of meticulously airbrushed paintings includes a handful of pieces done in collaboration with my art partner, Warmmilkwithsugar, who came from Atlanta to join me for the final two months of execution, where we worked as a team to finalize the show.” - Emily Braswell, September 2024, St. Croix
ARTIST BIO
Emily Braswell is a multidisciplinary artist living in Saint Croix, USVI. Primarily working in the form of digitally inspired airbrush painting, she draws on snapshots of her experiences since moving to the island. Her work uses punchy color and simplified form to portray moments of personal perspectives that blur into an abstract world.
Originally from North Carolina, Braswell studied visual art from an early age. She attended University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she met her collaborative partner, Jenna Rees warmmilkwithsugar. Later moving to Atlanta, Georgia, they began showcasing their work alongside their large scale installations. Most recognized for their show Daytona, in 2018, the duo activated a 3,000sq ft gallery with a dramatic pairing of abstract paintings, found objects, sculptures, video and performance. Braswell has always had an elegant way of blending different styles and mediums within conceptual bodies of work.
SHOW DETAILS:
Full scale exhibition opening night at 81C’s main gallery
Good Luck, Have Fun - strawberriemilk
Exhibition Opening Event - Sat, October 5th - 5PM-Midnight
On view at 81C through December, 2024.
Gallery hours : Weekdays 5-8PM
Location: Downtown Charlotte Amalie. Strand Gade between waterfront and Market Square. Right around the corner from Moe’s Grocery on waterfront. Google 81C Virgin Islands for directions. You can also call 340 203 4030
THIS SHOW IS SPONSORED IN PART BY SILVER AIRWAYS