Brianna Cole is an MFA candidate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Milwaukee-based artist whose practice explores the intersections of whimsy, ritual, and emotional infrastructure.
She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Ball State University with a BFA in Animation and a minor in Art History. Working across painting, drawing, collage, 3D modeling, and installation, Brianna’s work investigates personal and collective longing, transforming intimate desires into tangible, immersive experiences.
Artist Statement
My artistic practice is rooted in world-building and storytelling, a continuous search for the elusive element of myself that finds expression through making, sharing, and imagining. I navigate the chaos and beauty of creation with curiosity, embracing the unknown and allowing failure to guide discovery. Each project is an invitation to explore personal and collective experiences, to inhabit spaces both whimsical and uncanny, and to uncover the hidden patterns of human longing and imagination.
From installations to prints, drawings, collage, and 3D environments, I experiment across mediums to translate emotional and conceptual ideas into tangible forms.
In my current work as Wish Room Ambassador, I explore hope as a shared practice, creating participatory spaces where participants’ desires, reflections, and dreams converge into ritual, sound, and archive. These acts of engagement transform private longing into collective resonance, bridging individual experience with broader emotional networks.