October 29 - December 3, 2022
BRANDI MILNE
Everything I Ever Was
Brandi Milne
INFO & PRESSSEE SHOW
Brandi Milne
Everything I Ever Was
“Please Tell Me Who I Am”
Click here to download a sample of exhibit images, in-studio shots, and artist photos
Click here to watch CHG’s studio visit with Brandi Milne
OPENING RECEPTION
October 29, 2022 | 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm
ON VIEW
October 29 – December 3, 2022
COREY HELFORD GALLERY
571 S. Anderson St. Los Angeles, CA 90033
Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Visiting Hours: Thursday-Saturday, 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
(310) 287-2340
Downtown Los Angeles’ Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) is proud to present the highly-anticipated solo exhibition by adored Southern California artist Brandi Milne, one of the leading artists in the contemporary art scene. Three years in the making and kicking off the holiday season at CHG, Everything I Ever Was opens on Saturday, October 29th from 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm in the Main Gallery and will be on view through December 3rd.
Growing up in Anaheim, California in the late 1970s/early 80s, Milne's surrounding world of classic cartoons, toys, candy, Disneyland, and joyous family holidays fascinated and deeply influenced her young imagination. Self-taught and emotionally driven, Milne’s pop-surrealist, acrylic paintings depict a uniquely surreal world that is undeniably hers and speak of love, loss, pain, and heartbreak, underneath a beautiful, candy-coated surface ? a combination that has led to a career spanning over 20 years and her work being celebrated around the world.
L-R: “The Sad, Sad Ballad of The Red Tin Woodsman,” “(Madness) Everything That Ever Was,” and “Hello My Sorrow”
In this collection of all new works, spanning many themes, we look on as a forlorn and whimsical enchantress veiled in lace (seen above) plays a candy-colored accordion to an audience of adoring woodland fans, while in another very personal piece to Milne, we spy a hauntingly beautiful skeletal ghost-like banshee who is “running and searching and nothing is making sense…but she’s still going.” In another, we find a blue frosted elephant (seen above) inspired by an ornament she secretly plucked off a branch of her childhood Christmas tree. With all her works, you’re sure to find little surprises at every corner of the canvas like a musically inclined grasshopper who plays not his wings, but a tiny piano as he serenades the other cast of dreamlike characters in attendance. Click here to watch CHG’s in-studio interview featuring Milne sharing insight into her process and inspiration while creating her latest body of work.
Regarding the show, Milne shares, “A collection of surreal spun tales laced with the cold hard truth about what it feels like to be fully human ? Everything I Ever Was is my wild, bright, blazing human expression. To create these works, I dove deeply into the vivid world that lives within my imagination. I let my subconscious be my guide, as the subconscious is the womb of creation. The belly of these pieces hold my joy, my sorrow, my tenderness, and my grief. They hold my fear, my loneliness, as well as my love and my light.” Adding, “I offer these new images to my fellow humans in hopes that they can connect to the pure wonder within themselves. We are all connected by this beautiful thing we call humanity, and we need it now more than ever.”
“Everything I Ever Was”
Everything I Ever Was marks Milne’s fifth solo show at CHG, following 2017’s massively popular Once Upon A Quiet Kingdom, and opens on October 29th alongside a solo show from Nicoletta Ceccoli, titled Handle With Care, in Gallery 3. For those of you who have yet to discover Milne’s magical, dark, and dreamy world, CHG welcomes you to come and visually explore these fantastic new paintings that weave stories and emotions, while blending the artist’s two favorite holidays (Christmas and Halloween) and promises to warm your insides and brighten your spirits.
About Brandi Milne:
Brandi Milne is an American painter and writer. While growing up in Anaheim, California in the late 1970s/early 80s, dreaming of one day being a professional artist, Milne’s young imagination was fascinated by her surrounding world of classic cartoons, toys, candy, Disneyland, and joyous family holidays. Inspired by life, Milne taught herself how to draw, paint, and visually interpret the world uniquely…directly from her imagination. Within the fanciful, surreal world Milne creates, one can find a wild range of emotions emanating from the depths of her subconscious. Each artwork holds an authentic truth, which is often buried beneath a vibrant veneer, that at first glance, seems to laugh and dance with innocence.
Milne’s career spans over two decades, with her work being celebrated in galleries and museums across the U.S. and internationally, as well as featured in Juxtapoz, Hi-Fructose, Heavy Metal, and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, among many others. In addition, Milne has two books (2008’s So Good For Little Bunnies and 2013’s Fröhlich, both published by Baby Tattoo Books) and a wealth of strange stories to publish in the future. Milne has collaborated with the likes of Disney, Hurley, Billabong, CVS Pharmacy, Sugarpill Cosmetics, 686 Apparel, 3DRetro, Wizards of the Coast, and most recently, the GRAMMY® Award-winning band TOOL.
Brandi Milne (credit: Jessica Louise Imagery)
About Corey Helford Gallery:
Established in 2006 by Jan Corey Helford and her husband, television producer/creator Bruce Helford (The Conners, Anger Management, The Drew Carey Show, and George Lopez), Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) has since evolved into one of the premier galleries of New Contemporary art. Its goal as an institution is to support the growth of artists, from the young and emerging, to the well-known and internationally established. CHG represents a diverse collection of international artists, primarily influenced by today's pop culture and collectively encompassing style genres such as New Figurative Art, Pop Surrealism, Neo Pop, Graffiti, and Street Art. Located in downtown Los Angeles (571 S. Anderson St. Los Angeles, CA 90033) in a robust 12,000 square-foot building, CHG presents new exhibitions approximately every six weeks. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm, with visiting hours being Thursday through Saturday from 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm ? appointments are only necessary during non-visiting hours. For more info and an upcoming exhibition schedule, visit CoreyHelfordGallery.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. For available prints from CHG, visit CHGPrints.com.
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