GENA MILANESI

Milanesi was born in Los Angeles and currently works/lives in London. She attends the Royal College of Art (MA - Painting) and continues to exhibit her work internationally.

Raised between the cinematic backdrop of Los Angeles and the mythic, evergreen terrain of Scotland, the tension and harmony of these contrasting worlds has shaped her painting sensibilities. Milanesi’s work unfolds within an unrestrained ecology, where reservoirs of materiality expose layers of potential and possibility, evoking both violence and tenderness. Her approach invites textural spontaneity through a curious marriage of erasure and addition. This process activates what is often ignored or forgotten.

Through a continual interrogation of colour and form, her marks become acts of playful defiance, embodying the duality of opposing forces. Materiality takes precedence in this dialogue, as tension-driven mediums accumulate across the surface, generating a visceral sense of presence and physicality. This structured, controlled chaos serves as a metaphor for nature itself—stillness giving way to turbulence, often without warning.

“Painting is a lively negotiation. The act becomes a delicate dance, allowing space for softness, hesitation, surprise.”