Harland Miller
HARLAND MILLER "ME" MIXED MEDIA, 2019
Born in Yorkshire, England in 1964, Harland Miller is a critically acclaimed writer and artist. In both endeavors, books are central to Miller's practice.
After exhibiting art throughout the 80s and 90s, Miller released his first novel Slow Down Arthur, Stick to Thirty in 2000 to critical acclaim. Resuming his artistic practice shortly after, Miller began to include visual or textual references to writing and literature in his painting.
Best known for reimagining vintage Penguin book covers, Miller combines satirical, existential, and introspective phrases with rich backdrops and bold typography. The results raise important questions about the absurdity of modern anxieties.
The artist often employs a palette that enhances the title's "commercial" allure, while juxtaposing the weight of the underlying themes. His evocative representations take on a life of their own, capturing the physicality of the books through densely layered fields of color and rich brushstrokes that highlight evidence of their wear and tear. These subtle details prompt the viewer to consider who might have read the book, whether it had mass appeal, and why.
"Me" is a quintessential example of the artist's signature aesthetic, yet somewhat of a departure from his signature content. The layered letters "M" and "E" consume the composition, dissolving and resurfacing through dynamic brushstrokes of fuscia, bubble gum pink, lime green, chartreuse, periwinkle, and cobalt accents. The ballooning typography overwhelms the surface of the work, making the word "ME" an inescapable sole focus, with little room for any other competing ideas. This layering of letters recalls Jasper Johns' approach with numbers.
Like the best of his work, the curious title remains vague, leaving the viewer to wonder whether the book offers an opportunity for self-exploration, or perhaps, a rabbit hole of self-indulgence and obsession. Miller's signature banner runs along the bottom of the book cover, denoting himself as the author or "expert." Self-help has never looked so colorful, promising, and easy.
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"Me"
London, 2019
Watercolour and oil on paper
20"H 14.25"W (work)
23"H 17"W (framed)
Very good condition
Provenance: White Cube (London)
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