Brianna Angelakis

Brianna Angelakis



Brianna Marie Angelakis (b. 1990) is an American artist. She was born in Massachusetts and moved to New Hampshire during her early teen years. She moved to Florida at the end of her high school years, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Angelakis currently attends Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL. She will graduate in the Spring of 2013 with a BA in the Visual Arts, a BA in English, and a minor in Illustration. She will be returning to Flagler College in the Fall of 2013 as an alumnus to complete her BFA in Fine Arts.

My perspective and experiences as a female in society dominates the subjects of my paintings. In my work, I juxtapose the female figure with the wildness of nature to create a sense of female liberation. Additionally, as an artist, I find straight lines and structure confining, causing me to return to organic shapes. Through the emphasis of bright colors, texture, and fluidity, my female figures become powerful subjects in a chaotic world. My color palette assists in creating a mood which reflects the emotion of the figure, which in turn corresponds with her environment. I frequently return to a combination of cool colors, establishing a sense of eeriness in my works.

My artistic inspiration stems from my love for literature and poetry in addition to my own experiences as a young woman. I am generally inspired by works of literature which represent the female through positive and negative, powerful and supernatural imagery. In my work, I expand the Romantic idea of nature as a sublime element, often portraying the landscape as a surreal element uncontained by man. By emphasizing the weather and other natural phenomenon, I expand on the disorderly freedom of the natural world. Similarly, my female figures wildly flaunt their hair and dress. The unruly landscape then parallels the depiction of the uncanny female figure. Moreover, through the isolation of my female figures, I create an emotional relationship between the figure and the observer.

Angelakis' artworks have been exhibited in various galleries located throughout north and central Florida including the Cummer Museum of Arts and Gardens. She will be showing nationally for the first time this December at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco and Light Grey Art Lab in Minneapolis. Additionally, her works have been published internationally through print and online magazines including PoetsArtists Magazine, MISC Magazine, and the coverstory for Northeast Florida's Magazine, Folio Weekly.