Ilya Milstein觸感豐富的插畫作品總能讓人眼前一亮，他是一位出生於義大利，在澳大利亞墨爾本長大，在紐約自學成才的插畫家。從墨尔本大學概念雕塑系畢業后，他為紐約時報等雜誌繪製插畫作品。從小受到墨爾本流行文化的耳濡目染，我們可以從他的作品中可以感受到獨特的標籤性。他最具代表性的作品是紐約街景系列，大量細節營造出的活力和動態感，是他對這座城市的由衷贊美。

Ilya Milstein, a Melbourne-raised illustrator now thriving in New York, infuses his traditionally drawn creations with detailed warmth, aiming to evoke earnest connections and vividly describe life’s nuances. Guided by interwar comics, pictographic writing, and music, Ilya employs a meticulous process of hand-drawn lines on paper before digital coloring, crafting pieces with unique human warmth. Among awards and achievements, Ilya’s illustrations for The New York Times Style Magazine’s playing card deck stand out as a testament to his diverse and intricate creativity.

Ilya Milstein將日常街頭場景以平面方式表現。作品講述了不同城市的多樣生活，是風景的千姿百態，是人生的五彩斑斕。一些溫馨的室內場景，則呈現出濃厚的生活氣息。他創作的插畫色彩和細節豐富，扁平的小人物和擁擠的街道佈滿了作品80%的比例。畫面的主角可以是某個人，也可以是一大群人，畫的是城市的縮影，普通的日常生活，每天上演的故事都十分精彩。從街頭藝人到歷史名人，從街頭塗鴉到城市建築，每一個細節都充滿了生命力和故事感。

Ilya Milstein presents everyday street scenes in a flat manner. His works depict the diverse lives of different cities, showcasing the various landscapes and vibrant colors of life. Some cozy indoor scenes exude a strong sense of daily life. His illustrations are rich in color and detail, with flat little figures and crowded streets filling 80% of the composition. The protagonist of the picture can be an individual or a large group of people, depicting a microcosm of the city, the ordinary daily life, and the fascinating stories that unfold every day. From street performers to historical figures, from street art to urban architecture, every detail is full of vitality and storytelling.

他喜歡觀察生活中的細枝末節，常常在靈感枯竭之時外出騎車或者散步找尋創作源泉。 “我常常試著在都市快節奏的生活中慢下來，去發掘一些容易被我們忽略的微小事物”。 他的創作靈感來自文藝復興繪畫，尤其是荷蘭繪畫，還有具有清晰線條和柔和色彩的人物描繪，包括日本版畫、阿茲特克手抄本和埃及象形文字。

In its detail-oriented subject matter and time-consuming process, much of his work involves slowing down in a fast world. “I try to live like that in my daily life, taking the time to examine small things that I’d otherwise overlook.” The detail of Renaissance painting, particularly Netherlandish, is hugely important to him, as well as a lineage of figuration employing clean lines and muted colors that includes Japanese woodblock prints, Aztec codices and Egyptian hieroglyphs.

“從孩提時代到青少年時期，我一直沉迷於繪畫。 插圖最吸引我的特點是它很簡單，只需要創造性，一支筆，一張紙和一台筆記型電腦。 “插畫藝術深深地吸引了他，所以他毅然決然地選擇了堅持繪畫這條道路。

I drew obsessively throughout my childhood and teens, eventually building an audience for my zines. Illustration appealed to me foremost due to the simplicity of its materials, which required creative resourcefulness, technical proficiency, and few overheads (just a pen, paper, and a laptop). I was also drawn to the long history of graphic arts (if one accepts Egyptian hieroglyphics as a general starting point) and how illustration reaches a far wider audience than conceptual art does.

談到為什麼會來到紐約並且開始描繪紐約，他解釋說：“小時候在墨爾本每天與大自然接觸，有時與世隔絕的自由，都促成了我成為一個夢想家。 然而，當我二十多歲時，這些卻讓我感到疏離。 我渴望身處一個更加密集和充滿活力的地方。 紐約是一個理想的工作之地，它的快節奏常常迫使藝術家們走上一條明確的創作道路。 之前，我是一個涉獵廣泛的人。 我拍電影、繪畫、寫作、雕塑等等。 然而，在紐約，我決定專注於盡我所能做好一件事，那就是繪畫。 ”

When talking about how his residences informed his art practice, “Melbourne was an ideal place to grow up. Having a daily engagement with nature, and sometimes liberating isolation from the rest of the world seemed conducive to becoming a dreamer. However, as I entered my twenties, I became increasingly alienated by these same qualities; I wanted to be somewhere denser/more dynamic. New York is an ideal place to work. In its demands, it often requires its artists to commit seriously to a clear creative path. Beforehand, I was a dabbler. I made films, painted, wrote, sculpted, etc. In New York, however, I decided to focus on doing just one thing to the best of my abilities, which was drawing.” 

例如插畫作品《雪中的作家》，他試圖捕捉由疫情寒冬所觸發的情感。 在創作它時，他關注的是如何捕捉一個簡單的場景，讓觀眾能夠有代入感地去感受。 主角要麼是歡樂且有靈感，要麼是孤獨且寒冷，是一種不確定的情绪。 他描述了雪花紛飛起舞的場景，這種無目的性，起伏的，節奏的變化，強調了風的暴烈。 大自然既宜人又殘酷，美麗又殘忍，恆定又不斷變化。

With Writer in the snow, he wanted to capture a feeling inspired in part by a particularly cold pandemic winter. It deals with familiar themes of isolation and the ambiguities of beauty and inspiration. With it, he was mainly concerned with trying to capture a simple scenario that the viewer could bring their own innate reaction to. The main character is either joyous and inspired or lonely and cold (or maybe all these). Specific to the work, the natural phenomenon he was referred to was the dance of falling snow. The aimlessness of the flakes, fluctuating billows, changes in pace, providing a drawing of wind. The nature is both hospitable and hostile, beautiful and cruel, constant and ever-changing, and endlessly varied. 

除了紐約街景系列之外，Ilya Milstein還為許多知名品牌和媒體繪製插畫作品，如Apple、Google、Spotify、Facebook、Mr Porter、The New Yorker、The New York Times等。

In addition to New York street scene series, Ilya Milstein also creates illustrations for many renowned brands and media. Notable collaborations include campaigns for PayPal and the Metropolitan Museum of Art，while his work for Crisis charity demonstrates his impactful storytelling prowess.

透過Ilya Milstein充滿了生命力和故事感的繪畫，我們可以看到他對生活的熱愛，感受到不同城市和地域的文化氛圍和生命力。 

Through Ilya Milstein’s vibrant and storytelling illustrations, we can witness his passion for life, feeling the cultural atmosphere and vitality of different cities and regions.

More about Ilya Milstein:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilyamilstein/

Photo courtesy of the artist Ilya Milstein