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Brianna Lance, is an American artist and fashion designer known for her multifaceted career spanning fashion, music, and visual arts. Born on October 20, 1982, in San Jose, California, she was raised in Texas, where her grandfather introduced her to painting during her childhood. In 2004, Lance relocated to New York City, immersing herself in the fashion industry. She began her career as a stylist and later became the head designer for the environmentally conscious brand Reformation, a position she held from 2010 to 2015. During her tenure, she played a pivotal role in shaping the brand’s aesthetic and commitment to sustainability.
In 2015, Lance expanded her design portfolio by launching the menswear line Basic Rights. Inspired by the wardrobes of iconic figures like Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, and Muhammad Ali, the line was initiated after she was approached by Freddie Cowan of the English indie rock band The Vaccines to design uniforms for their tour. Beyond fashion, Lance explored her musical interests as a member of the all-women band Bad Girlfriend, where she sang and played rhythm guitar. She also performed as a DJ at various Fashion Week events, further showcasing her diverse creative talents.
In 2020, Lance shifted her primary focus to painting, a passion reignited during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her self-taught artistry delves into themes of meditation, repetition, and the subconscious, often incorporating symbolism related to mysticism, sexuality, and addiction. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows across the United States, including venues like The Hole, Tripoli Gallery, and Chandra Gallery. Lance’s paintings have garnered attention from notable publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and the East Hampton Star. She has collaborated with brands including The Edition Hotels, Ciao Lucia, and The Frankie Shop, integrating her artistic vision into various fashion and lifestyle projects.
In 2024, Lance partnered with & Other Stories to create the “Visionary Capsule Collection,” featuring garments adorned with her original artwork. This collaboration exemplified her ability to seamlessly blend art and fashion, bringing her mystical and evocative designs to a broader audience. Currently residing in New York City’s Alphabet City, Brianna Lance continues to explore and document her subconscious and spiritual journeys through her art, solidifying her status as a dynamic and influential figure in the contemporary art and fashion scenes.
Hi Brianna! It’s a pleasure to sit down with you! First question that I always ask. How does a regular day look like for you in New York?
Brianna: Hi thanks for talking with me. A normal day in New York for me is super dependent on what day of the week it is. I don’t like schedules, even though I kind of have one, so I tend to vary day to day. Every morning I wake up and have coffee in bed with my dog though. It’s my favorite part of the day. Then four days a week I go work out, kick boxing or Pilates. I paint almost every day depending on my deadline. But the time changes. Sometimes I make a ton of progress during the day, sometimes the rhythm is better at night. At least one day I let my self be totally alone, other than walking my dog. I love just a day by myself to paint and not be observed or communicate really with anyone. Various nights I go have dinners, or there will be studio visits or other things on the schedule.
I’m curious, growing up in Texas, what kind of kid were you? What did you enjoy doing, and how did you spend your time?
Brianna: I did the same thing I do now when I was a kid! I loved drawing and painting and isolating in my room, but also my mom would bring me around her friends or take me to art classes. We had so many dogs and cats too so lots of time with animals. I think the funniest thing is… had I trusted myself as a kid I knew exactly how to make myself happy then.
You went full time as a painter, in 2020, but when did you first start to paint? and when did you start taking being an artist seriously?
Brianna: My grandfather taught me how to paint when I was very young. Both of my grandfathers were hobby painters. It seems like I didn’t love other kids that much, so I was normally with adults as far as I can remember. Unfortunately I take everything I spend time doing very seriously. I’ve never had a hobby outside of maybe exercise that didn’t then become some sort of a career. When I started spending a lot of time on painting… I took it very seriously.
Ok Brianna, with these next series of questions, I will try to delve into your work as best as possible. So, your paintings have a dreamlike, almost psychedelic quality. How would you describe your visual language, and what draws you to this aesthetic?
Brianna: My aesthetic came from not wanting my work to look like other paintings. I’m hyper aware of not doing something I feel is already out there. If I feel someone is already doing something why would I need to do it? I also think because I didn’t do formal fine art college that I have non of the industry telling me yes or no. Just my own ideas. I also started the figurative work by referencing a lot of Hieronymus Bosch because I love his way of story telling. I am not as nightmare fueled as he was but I wanted the same quality of being able to sit with a painting and discover new things all the time. I want the paintings to tell a long story not a short one.
Your work often reflects hyper-feminine and mystical energies. What is it about these topics that resonates with you?
Brianna: My work is 100% in service to my spiritual life. They are mystical and hyper feminine because the messages I get are mystical by nature and maybe feminine by my lense. I think all the best art is spiritual and channeled from somewhere beyond us, I just think human egos get in the way and like to take more credit. I take no personal credit for the ideas I get though. They are gifts not given to me but given to me to make and then given to everyone.
You’ve previously mentioned that meditation influences your work. Can you elaborate on how that translates visually in your paintings?
Brianna: It might make me clinically insane but I feel like something sends me a message of what to paint. And I get a lot of messages while meditating because everything else is quiet. But sometimes I get them brushing my teeth or walking. I’ll see certain trees, flowers bleeding, dogs running, ropes, something that I then have to investigate to figure out the meaning. So the paintings are essentially an investigation of messages from beyond or messages from my insanity. Who knows.
Some of your paintings have a surreal, almost otherworldly quality. Do you see your work as storytelling or world-building?
Brianna: Yes. I am always trying to tell a story but also trying to let people make their own stories. Nothing is ever too obvious. It’s nice to let people have their own personal relationship to the work without me telling them how to feel.
There has been several different chapters in your life, Fashion designer, DJ, painter etc… Which has been your favorite so far? And why?
Brianna: Well… designer, playing in bands, dj’ing all was actually just one chapter. I used to be in a mode of just saying yes and following where ever I was being led, so I did all those jobs at the same time. Painting is the first time I ever really chose something for myself rather than saying yes to someone else. It’s my favorite because it’s what I chose to make myself happy. I appreciate all I’ve done before because it made me a more expansive person as well as let me appreciate what I do now more. I don’t have any “what if” questions anymore.
You’ve seamlessly moved from fashion design to painting. What prompted this shift, and how have your experiences in fashion influenced your visual art
Brianna: I am so glad the move seems seamless. It hasn’t been. I’ve been met with a ton of rejection from the art world because I was already known for something else. I have felt like I have to carry a hammer to knock down walls constantly. But my career before gave me a lot of confidence in myself. It influenced less of the visual part of my practice but more the business and ethos behind it. If I make something people connect to, it doesn’t matter how the industry feels it will live beyond that. Whatever I have made past or present is in service to people, not to my ego.
As someone who has been a stylist, creative director, musician, and DJ, how do these varied roles inform and intersect with your current work as a painter?
Brianna: Creating is ultimately creating no matter the medium. Styling, and creative direction have clients and a lot of brains to collaborate with, but also ultimately someone above the project to please. Music is really collaborative by nature but more in a very emotional way and less in a business way. Painting is the one thing I create in isolation. I think most artist can cross over to different mediums and forms of expression, but ultimately the variables are the intention and environment in which you are making something.
You’ve preciously said that each painting is a journey. So with that in mind, can you walk me through your creative process from beginning to end result?
Brianna: Normally it starts with seeing something. Earlier in my practice I would meditate to get little visions, but lately no matter what I am doing I will have an image or a visual there until I start to put it down, like flowers bleeding, or dogs running in a frenzied pack. I then sit and think about color before I start. I prep the canvas with a wash of colors and let it dry and then research the images in my mind. If it’s flowers I find about 60 different images of orchids. Then I pull my reference images out and sit and think about what is being said to me. Why am I being given this image. With that thought the painting comes together in my head a little more. Then once I start painting everything can stay the same or totally change. I never know until it’s done. So it’s like solving a puzzle by painting.
Can you also tell me about your use of symbolism?
Brianna: Everything I paint is heavily researched. If I’m seeing swans, or dogs, or trees, I go deep into researching them. What are the different spiritual significance of each, what are their places in history, etc. I learned tarot recently, so often I can trace back to something to do with the language and meaning in there, but also I try and understand the meaning beyond just that. It’s sort of a subliminal language. But there are certain symbols very personal to me to add a piece of myself. The braids i use are based on my own braids, a lot of the hands are my own hands. I give part of myself away to the work. So basically any little detail in a piece I can give you paragraphs of meaning for each. All of this just ends up being something else once the work is done though. People might have their own story for each symbol and I like those just as much as my own. I don’t care what people connect with as long as they connect.
Color’s huge in your work—bold and dreamy. My question is, how do you approach color?
Brianna: I always want colors to be a bit off. So I mix a lot of contrasting colors together and then layer a lot so the light and shadow doesn’t exist just in light and dark but in varying colors to create depth. It also creates a softness, the muddy colors and the fading in and out of different ones. That part is fun because it’s kind of the easiest and most free part of the whole process.
So with what we just talked about, what are you hoping to convey?
Brianna: Oh goodness. That’s a big question. The most honest answer is I’m hoping to convey the messages I receive from other realms. But the more down to earth answer is I’m hoping to convey truths of life to people in a way that feels like a dream. Like the bleeding orchids are really about how insane, painful, and enraging it feels to live in a misogynistic country as a woman, but the message being told through a flower makes it much less painful and easier to take on.
Ok Brianna, now to something totally different. In a parallel universe who would you be? and what would you be doing?
Brianna: I always like the idea of being a therapist, I love psychology and studying people. I consume a lot of psychological information to help with my work too. Understanding people helps you exist on this earth. My day dream/fantasy is to have a farm for animals of leisure though. Like no working animals, just animals there to chill and be spoiled, maybe they all wear beautiful bows and flower garlands… but that’s hard to earn a living.
Outside of art, what’s something you’re obsessed with right now—maybe a hobby, a show, or even a food—that keeps you grounded or inspired?
Brianna: I have been obsessed with kick boxing for years. It is one of the best things I do for my brain. Feeling strong and capable is beyond value in my life. I also never can stay angry because I always have a place to put it.
Can you tell me a story about a time when a connection with someone had a big impact on you?
Brianna: Every day of my life! My community is the most incredible gift. I never feel lonely or unsupported. I have gratitude every day for the people in my life. I spent a lot of years giving to people who maybe didn’t give back but after learning the hard way, now every connection I have improves my life each day. Thats kind of not a great story though, I wish I had a hard hitting story, but every time I want to isolate one person I think of 10 more.
What qualities do you find most important in the people you choose to spend time with?
Brianna: Happiness in themselves. People who don’t like themselves destroy the world. People who find happiness in themselves make everything better, but also are able to then see beyond themselves because they aren’t in a place of suffering and surviving. They are in a place of living and experiencing the world around them. They want to make their environment reflect their inside.
Anybody you look up to?
Brianna: So many, but ultimately I have no one I try to emulate. I want my path to be completely my own. So I take little bits from all over to form my own ethos and way of sculpting my life. I guess no one I look up to but many I respect.
What motivates you?
Brianna: I have felt ever since I was a little kid that I had a purpose and I needed to figure it out. I came into this specific life just a thin layer away from what I know I need to do. I am still driving towards that full speed in the dark, but when I get there and my mission is accomplished I will let you know what it was. Tbd.
How would you describe a perfect day?
Brianna: A perfect day is a day that I appreciate that I am alive and I connect with this physical plane for all it can give us. A day where I am present and grateful in the moment.
Alright Brianna, I always ask these two questions at the end of an interview. The first is. What’s your favorite movie(s) and why?
Brianna: My favorite movie is YOUTH by Paolo Sorrentino. It reminds me of one of my favorite books MAGIC MOUNTAIN by Thomas Mann. It conveys being on pause and all that happens when you are paused and away from your normal life. Life is never still, even when you think it is.
The second is. What song(s) are you currently listening to the most right now?
Brianna: Today I have been re-listening to one of my all time favorite songs COOL WAVES by Spiritualized. I also learned to play a version of Wild Mountain Thyme that Bob Dylan and Joan Baez do live, so I listened to that a lot recently.