Mia Brownell "Still Life with Bioplastic"

Brownell is a New York and Connecticut based painter known for her sci-fi still life paintings that merge historical painting traditions with contemporary scientific visual language. Her work examines food as a cultural signifier and a metaphor for broader systems shaping identity and society. Mia has received numerous awards including a New York State Council on the Arts ArtsWestchester individual artist grant and Visiting Artist residencies at the American Academy in Rome.

Artist Statement:

"The paintings of blue orchids included in ‘In Full Bloom’ celebrate 18th century scientific botanical illustrations and expose a modern illusion: true blue orchids are rare. The ones we buy are usually dyed white ones.

Mia Brownell's paintings bridge historical still life traditions with contemporary scientific imagery, reimagining the food still life genre through a distinctly contemporary lens. By merging 17th-century Dutch realism with molecular forms, her work probes the biochemical relationships between humans and the earth, positioning everyday subject matter within a broader conversation about science, culture, and the global food economy." - Mia Brownell