Milana Blackman is a contemporary artist working in Venice, California. Pen on paper is the signature. Black ink at a density most painters will not attempt. Drawings that run as large as eight feet, symbol stacked on symbol until a nude, a city, a bull, and a mandala occupy the same plane. The line on her studio wall is the method: the devil is in the detail.
She is an immigrant from Eastern Europe who came up through NYU and landed in Venice with a practice that is neither street nor academy. Original large works have sold from $25,000 to $150,000 and sit with collectors and a handful of celebrities. Limited-edition prints go out worldwide from milanablackman.com. A solo show in Venice made the local press for the obvious reason: the drawings do not let you glance.
The work is hours you can count. That is the question the series is asking. What happens when craft refuses to be casual.
