Simon Braunstein
Intersectional queer artist
Mid-Atlantic United States
Art is one way a life becomes legible. Through form, it holds what experience alone cannot fully say.
About the Artist
Simon Braunstein is an intersectional queer artist based in the Mid-Atlantic United States. In 2025 he graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Illustration. His current work, Hephaestion, is a full length science fiction graphic novel focused on themes of war, disability justice, and grief. Through traditional and digital techniques, he uses the soft, natural grit of pencils to realize the semi-realistic, stylized characters that fill his worlds.
Artist Statement:
Braunstein's background in animation and creative writing brings a unique, cinematic approach to his comics. His background as a queer Asian American immigrant translates into the sincere diversity of his characters, as he believes fiction is a powerful tool for exploring existing political structures and the perspectives of those trapped within. While he focuses his storytelling on themes of power imbalance, social conflict, and self-actualization, he still makes room for whimsy and a sense of awe with nature because he maintains that joy is a fundamental part of the fight for a better future.
