Jillian Shea

Born in San Rafael, CA / Works in Berkeley, CA

BIO

Jillian Shea (born 1999) is an American artist living and working in Berkeley, California. She found a love for paint at an early age, and went on to study painting and drawing at California College of the Arts where she received her BFA in 2021. Her work is mainly influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, Sargent, and contemporary painter Jenna Gribbon. These influences have culminated into Shea’s practice of painting diaristic vignettes with luscious paint.

Jillian Shea’s paintings exude the playful energy of early adulthood. She is recording her life with each memory she paints. A queer little white girl from suburbia spending time with her cats at home, going out with her friends, loving and being loved by her partner and his kids. Shea’s experience is both completely ordinary and unique at the same time. She contemplates her relationships to those around her and her identity, memorializing the little moments in paint.