Bree Gilliam is a figurative painter and muralist from Buffalo, NY. She is the owner and founder of Paintphoria, Buffalo’s first paint-throwing studio. Gilliam attended SUNY Buffalo State University where she received a B.F.A. in painting and a minor in art therapy. In her work, she addresses the social issues that plague society. As a young black woman, she believes that her responsibility is to depict the perspective of marginalized people, give a voice to the voiceless, and empower her community.
In 2023, Gilliam was selected as an artist-in-residence at Hunt Art Gallery. Her work has been featured in several exhibitions around Western NY. Some of these include a solo exhibition, “INSPIRED,” at BOX Gallery and Buffalo Arts Studio, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center’s “Amid/In WNY 2024”, and Burchfield Penney Art Center’s “Welcoming Spaces” and “Sharing Our View: 25th Anniversary” . She has been commissioned to paint several murals in the Western New York area. Currently, Gilliam works as a contracted artist assistant installing multiple community-based polytab murals with Buffalo AKG Art Museum in Buffalo, NY. In 2023, Niagara Falls National Heritage Area chose Gilliam to paint her mural entitled Free Your Mind. Gilliam has received over ten academic awards and scholarships during her time at Buffalo State. These include the Dean’s Award for Excellence in the School of the Arts and Sciences, Robert C. and Marilyn Wilson Painting Scholarship, and the SUNY Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship.