Emily Braswell and Jenna Rees are collaborative art partners that work under the aliases Strawberriemilk & Warmmilkwithsugar. Their practice centers on painting, complemented by experimental video art, large-scale installations, and sculptures. Their most recent work focuses on hybrid realistic paintings derived from abstract, digitally manipulated reference images, rendered with airbrush and hand-painted techniques and accompanied by conceptual video work and found object sculptures. 

 

Braswell and Rees have been collaborating for well over a decade from the South East to the Caribbean. Their partnership began at a young age at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, a visual arts boarding school they attended on a merit-based scholarship, where they were the first students to ever present a collaborative senior thesis. Upon graduating from UNCSA in 2011, they each pursued higher education in fine art: Rees received a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art, and Braswell earned a BA from the University of North Carolina Charlotte. 

 

The duo reconnected in Atlanta, GA, in 2017, where they gained recognition as a duo for making large scale abstract paintings paired with conceptual installations that transformed spaces, including their breakthrough show Daytona in 2018. After relocating to the Virgin Islands, they exhibited a successful show, Good Luck Have Fun at 81C Gallery in St Thomas in 2024. The duo now resides and continues their collaborative studio practice in San Juan, Puerto Rico.