Bree Gilliam is a fine arts painter and muralist from Buffalo, New York. She attended SUNY Buffalo State University, receiving a B.F.A. in painting and a minor in art therapy in 2022. She is the owner of Paintphoria LLC, Buffalo, NY’s first splatter studio. You can learn about Paintphoria at www.paintphoria.com. She is best known for her figurative oil paintings, which feature intense colors, bold symbolism, and expressive brushstrokes to evoke emotion in her audience, sparking introspection and conversation. She is deeply interested in the social issues plaguing society and how they connect us all. Gilliam believes her responsibility is to depict the perspectives of marginalized people and to engage with 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. These include solo exhibitions “id’ and “INSPIRED” at Buffalo Arts Studio; Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center’s “Amid/In WNY 2024”; and Burchfield Penney Art Center’s “Sharing Our View: 25th Anniversary.” She has been commissioned to paint several murals in Western New York. Her most notable mural, titled Bright Days, was completed in 2026 in collaboration with Buffalo AKG Art Museum and Evergreen Health Services at 3070 Bailey Avenue, Buffalo, NY. Gilliam assisted in the creation of several public art projects with Buffalo AKG Art Museum, including a mural in collaboration with Edreys Wajed on the Jesse E. Nash Medical Center in Buffalo. In 2023, Niagara Falls National Heritage Area selected Bree to paint her mural titled Free Your Mind. In 2026, she received a New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Grant. 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, the Robert C. and Marilyn Wilson Painting Scholarship, and the SUNY Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship.