I work with acrylic paint to reimagine scenes based on family mythologies and fragments of memory. Themes of home, childhood, femininity and safety surface throughout my work. I am influenced by the Southern Gothic literary tradition and particularly enamored by this genre's use of the supernatural and uncanny. I try to imbue my paintings with a sense of narrative possibility. I seek to present an atmospheric perspective on the American South through painted effects of light, shadow, transparency, reflection and glow.
Mills Brown is a painter based in Oxford, UK. Originally from South Carolina (b. 1993), Brown's work considers the American South as a subject. She references ghostly figures lifted from photographs, familiar objects rendered from memory, ornamental patterns and colorful wildlife to build an otherworldly narrative around the idea of home. Mills holds an MFA in Studio Art from American University (2017) and a BA in English and Art History from Wofford College (2015). Selected exhibitions include Interiors, Latela Curatorial, Washington, DC (2019) and Welcome, Redux Contemporary Art Center, Charleston, SC (2021).