LaNia Sproles (they/them) grew up in Milwaukee and studied art at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, completing their BFA in 2017. Upon graduating, they stepped into the contemporary art world with a distinct style that challenges representational boundaries.

Now based in Chicago, Sproles creates work that is intimate, playful, provocative, and empowering. Their recent exhibition “King for a Day” (January 17–March 15) at Portrait Society Gallery of Contemporary Art in Milwaukee’s Third Ward offered viewers a glimpse into Sproles’ inner world, where the artist explored their identity, sexuality, and community—and tampered with notions of love, sex, and power.

Sproles has developed a distinctive artistic approach that weaves together drawing, painting, printmaking, and collage. The exhibition was split between intimate portraits of friends and chosen family, and more allegorical works that depict triumph over adversity and obstacles.

Central to Sproles’ work is an exploration of the critical social relationships that sustain them. Their small-scale, expressively rendered portraits serve as contemporary love letters, testaments to the deep emotional connections they share with their inner circle. These pieces transcend mere representation to become intimate dialogues between artist and subject.

In “Impurity Dance,” for example, two of the same blonde figures, in matching shirts, dance together entwined in vines. Their hands connect overhead to hold a candle—a universal symbol of hope—while their other hands join in a prayer-like gesture. One of them gazes directly at the viewer while the other looks off into the distance. Created as Sproles witnessed a friend’s divorce, the piece stands as an offering for her friend’s healthy metamorphosis and wholeness as she moves through change and becomes acquainted with herself again.

Through their work, Sproles examines complex power dynamics and creates paths to agency through artistic fantasy. Their ability to transform personal experiences into universal stories as they tap into fundamental human desires for autonomy and control, resonates with broad audiences. In their self-portraits, they often appear as a powerful, sometimes bondagewear-clad, figure that embodies both vulnerability and strength.

Elaborate works, such as “Just One of Those Days” and “Love is Everything That She Kills” feature fantastical scenarios where the artist represents themselves in positions of power, often using sexual assertiveness to depict dominance over reptilian monsters, symbolically confronting adversaries and defeating oppressors. This metaphorical strategy transforms personal experiences of powerlessness into accounts of triumph and agency.

Despite being a self-described private person, Sproles maintains an active presence in Wisconsin’s art community. Their achievements include a 2020 Mary L. Nohl Fellowship and a teaching artist residency at the Lynden Sculpture Garden. Their curatorial work, including a guest-curated exhibition at the NADA art fair with The Green Gallery, demonstrates their multifaceted engagement with cultural dialogue.

Sproles’ work has gained recognition in significant spaces, including exhibitions at Elijah Wheat Showroom, David Zwirner’s online platform, Goldfinch Gallery, and FLXST Contemporary in Chicago. By centering queer, Black, and femme experiences, their art challenges dominant paradigms and creates space for marginalized voices.

The emotional and carnal landscapes in Sproles’ work invite viewers into intimate worlds where vulnerability and strength coexist. Their practice serves as a reminder that art can be transformative—a means of reconsidering social structures and celebrating the complexity of human experience.

“King for a Day” establishes LaNia Sproles as a vital voice reshaping our understanding of portraiture, identity, and representation. Their work invites us to see beyond conventional boundaries and embrace the rich, multifaceted nature of human expression, ultimately reimagining the very nature of power itself.