Wardell Milan

Wardell Milan has been recognized for his artistic talent since an early age; by four years old he already had his own studio. He graduated in 2004 from Yale University with an MFA, during which he began to develop an interest in drawing, collage, and three dimensional dioramas. Often using symbols of beauty and glamour, violence and mortality, public figures and the superhuman, Milan’s work occupies the “space between beauty and ugliness.” Recipient of 2014 Foundation for Contemporary Arts grant, Milan has mounted solo shows at Louis B. James Gallery (New York), 404 Gallery (Naples, Italy), Studio Museum in Harlem (New York), and Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA). His 2013 solo exhibition at OSMOS Gallery (New York) used the gallery as a space to “workshop” ideas, allowing the audience to witness the creative process and interact with the work in a direct way. Group shows include those at the Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia, PA), the Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh, PA), and White Columns (New York, NY). Milan currently lives in Long Island City, New York.