John Miller
John Miller is an artist, critic, and musician, whose work has undermined the rigid strategies of conceptual art since the early 1980s.
In 2008 Miller began gilding junk using gold leaf in his wall reliefs and standing sculptures. Gold architectural objects and household items arouse a primal attraction to metallic glimmer; the eye is drawn, magpie-like, to the glinting surfaces. However, upon closer inspection, the gold-covered objects appear cheap and even somewhat apocalyptic. Playing on authenticity and falsity, the works demonstrate Miller’s ambivalence towards capitalism and the value of art in consumer culture.
Artist’s works have been on display in a large number of museums and art institutions all over the world:
Museum Ludwig, Cologne
Cabinet des Estampes, Geneva
Carnegie Mellon Museum, Pittsburg, PA
Deutsche Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt
Frac Limousin, Limousin, France
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Pangea Consortium, Zurich
Progressive Corporation, Cleveland, OH
Queensboro Community College Gallery Collection, New York
Rehazentrum Lubben, Berlin
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
John Miller
A BRIDGE OF TRADITION, GROUP 1
2009
Dimensions Variable, Imitation gold leaf, assorted objects, fiberglass
Edition 2/2,
Exhibired: Other example - Rubell Family Collection - Expo1: NEW YORK, MoMA PS1, 10/2013;
Co–thinkers, Garage Museum of Сontemporary Art, Moscow, 2016
A BRIDGE OF TRADITION, GROUP 1
2009
Dimensions Variable, Imitation gold leaf, assorted objects, fiberglass
Edition 2/2,
Exhibited: Other example - Rubell Family Collection - Expo1: NEW YORK, MoMA PS1, 10/2013;
Co–thinkers, Garage Museum of Сontemporary Art, Moscow, 2016
A BRIDGE OF TRADITION, GROUP 1
2009
Dimensions Variable, Imitation gold leaf, assorted objects, fiberglass
Edition 2/2,
Exhibited: Other example - Rubell Family Collection - Expo1: NEW YORK, MoMA PS1, 10/2013;
Co–thinkers, Garage Museum of Сontemporary Art, Moscow, 2016
The Temple
2006
MDF, styrofoam, plaster, papier mache, plastic fruit, plastic and metal kitchen utensils, construction adhesive, composite (metal alloy) gold leaf, and mirrors
4 sections, each part - 144,8 x 86,4 x 152,4 cm
Exhibitions
"John Miller, Olaf Breuning, Tony Matelli", Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Moscow. Mar - Jun 2014
Lost Years
2008
Imitation gold leaf on assorted objects on a hollow-core panel
172,7 x 167,6 x 38,1 cm
(detail)
The Succession of Planes Gives No Impression of Depth
2009
Imitation gold leaf, assorted objects, fiberglass,
216 x 40 x 162 cm
(detail)
An Abdication of Logical Thinking
2009
Assorted objects, plaster, paper mache and imitation gold leaf on panel
121,9 x 106,7 x 38,1 cm
A Multiform Environment
2007
Gold leaf on assorted plastic objects, plaster, papier mache and styrofoam on hollow-core panel
127 x 83,8 x 33 cm
Big Love
2009
Assorted objects, plaster, paper mache
and imitation gold leaf on panel, 182.9x127x48.3 cm
Exhibitions
"John Miller, Olaf Breuning, Tony Matelli", Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Moscow. Mar - Jun 2014
"Co-thinkers", Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Jul - Sep 2016
Seventh Heaven
2008
Composite metallic leaf over assorted objects, papier mache,
plaster and styrofoam on wood panel
170,18 x 134,62 x 66,04 cm
Cyclists
2013
Acrylic on styrofoam and wood panels
2 parts:
101,6 x 96,5 x 3,8 cm
114,3 x 55,8 x 3,8 cm
Exhibitions
"John Miller, Olaf Breuning, Tony Matelli", Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Moscow. Mar - Jun 2014
Publications
Catalogue. "John Miller, Olaf Breuning, Tony Matelli",
Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Moscow, 2014, p. 96
Lunch Bags
2013
Acrylic on styrofoam and wood panels
3 parts:
119,3 x 119,3 x 3,8 cm,
54,61 x 50,8 x 3,8 cm,
57,15 x 53,3 x 3,8 cm
Exhibitions
"John Miller, Olaf Breuning, Tony Matelli", Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Moscow. Mar - Jun 2014
Publications
Catalogue. "John Miller, Olaf Breuning, Tony Matelli",
Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Moscow, 2014, p. 96