BRIANNA HART (B. 1988) IS A CALIFORNIA-BASED, SELF-TAUGHT MIXED-MEDIA COLLAGE ARTIST WHOSE WORK DELVES INTO RESILIENCE, IDENTITY, AND THE LAYERED ESSENCE OF THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE. HAVING EXPERIMENTED FROM AN EARLY AGE  WITH A WIDE RANGE OF MEDIUMS AND TECHNIQUES, HER PRACTICE HAS ALWAYS BEEN DEEPLY CONNECTED TO HER PERSONAL JOURNEY.

 

AFTER HIGH SCHOOL, HART DREAMED OF PURSUING FORMAL ART STUDIES, BUT LIFE TOOK A DIFFERENT TURN. A NEAR-FATAL BLOOD CLOT, A CANCER DIAGNOSIS, AND THE RARE GENETIC CONDITION EHLERS-DANLOS SYNDROME ALTERED HER PATH, YET NEVER EXTINGUISHED HER CREATIVE SPIRIT. THROUGH YEARS OF SURGERIES AND RECOVERY, SHE TURNED TO ART AS BOTH REFUGE AND REVELATION—TEACHING HERSELF TO CREATE WITHIN THE RHYTHM OF HEALING. WORKING FIRST IN CHARCOAL, SHE EXPLORED THE FRAGILITY AND STRENGTH OF THE HUMAN FORM, RECONSTRUCTING WHAT THESE ILLNESSES HAD THREATENED TO UNDO.

 

IN 2017, THE SAME MONTH SHE LEARNED HER CANCER WAS IN REMISSION, HART WAS INVITED TO EXHIBIT A SELF-PORTRAIT AT THE SANTA CRUZ MUSEUM OF ART & HISTORY. LONGING TO CELEBRATE THIS TURNING POINT IN COLOR BUT UNABLE TO AFFORD PAINT, SHE TURNED TO THE VIVID PAGES OF LUXURY MAGAZINES. WHAT BEGAN AS NECESSITY BECAME DISCOVERY—HER NOW-SIGNATURE PROCESS OF PAINTING WITH PAPER.

 

HART’S WORK IS A MEDITATION ON TRANSFORMATION—THE IDEA THAT BEAUTY CAN BE REBUILT FROM WHAT IS BROKEN, THE BELIEF THAT HUMAN BEINGS ARE MADE OF LAYERS—SOME VISIBLE, OTHERS HIDDEN. THROUGH HER DELICATE YET DELIBERATE PROCESS OF LAYERING PAPER, SHE REFLECTS BOTH THE VULNERABILITY AND STRENGTH THAT COME WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE. TODAY, HER PRACTICE CONTINUES TO EVOLVE, OFFERING VIEWERS A VISUAL EXPERIENCE REFLECTING DUALITY, TRANSFORMATION, SURVIVAL, AND THE BEAUTY OF REINVENTION.