Kaylani Brown (b. 1999) is a Black Nuyorican mixed-media artist, storyteller, and night-sky enthusiast based in Pittsburgh, PA. In 2021, they graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in General Fine Arts. They participated in Bunker Projects’ artist residency in 2025. Informed by the images of their Catholic upbringing, Kaylani’s work is littered with stars and mysticism. Their work explores what connective possibilities can transform people into heavenly bodies, and thus become more human. Emulating the warmth of a journal entry and the playful drawings they made as a child, Kaylani reimagines cosmologies on paper and in panels.

“My work reflects my personal history concerning love, the divine, and grand mystery. My connection to the natural world has felt mysterious due to my city roots. The world is so much grander than we understand, to the point of it feeling sacred and humbling. My work is a portal into a softer, more loving realm. I make images evoking how curious it is that everything around us is alive. I constantly draw people who are seeking - looking up, within, and at the viewer. They are searching for a call from somewhere beyond their understanding. Some languages have specific words for different definitions of love. In English, we are left with ambiguity and must use context to find the true meaning. I create paintings, illustrations, books, and zines to practice love in all forms. Through these tender acts of creation, I seek to unfold the secret puzzle of adoration.”