The "Mystery" of Art
Keith Miller - opening
Calderoni Gallery, Fábrica Art Walk
Saturday, March 1, 5-8pm |
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The Blue Orchid
(watercolor, gouache on paper, 7.25in x 5.25in)
One of a series of postal art pieces I've done over the years. In this case, although stamps and airmail stickers appear, it went nowhere near any postal system. Too bad- part of the fun of "mail art" is to see how long it takes to travel from one country to another and in what condition it arrives. Unfortunately I didn't leave enough space for an address, so that this postcard didn't go through all that; hand-delivered from my studio to the Calderoni Gallery.
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Español
February 23, 2025
by Keith Miller
Nothing is more awkward for an artist than being asked to talk, write or in some way explain his own work. Revelations of the artist's motives or ways and means generally come across with all the elegance of sausage making.
When some particularly eager aficionado asks if they can sit in my studio and just watch me paint, as if some secret to the "creative act" might be exposed, I respond, "Did you ever hear the expression, 'as exciting as watching paint dry?'" A more appropriate answer would be to remind them of the sign in the old auto repair shop; "Labor costs: mechanic's charge $20 per hour; if you want to watch, $30 per hour; if you want to help, $40."
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El Incendio con Orquideas
(oil on canvas, 47in x 39in)
A spray of Cymbidiums foreground, a battle between a water bomber and a forest fire. Cymbidium orchids are certainly not native to the great boreal forests of Canada, so I've taken great liberties in this scene of vulnerability and destruction. Smoke from these fires in 2023 and 2024 caused severe air pollution over vast areas of the U.S. New York City experienced its worst air quality ever recorded in June of 2023.
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I'm not sure how or when the idea got around that the visual arts should now be considered one of the performing arts. But there you are; students and others love a good painting demonstration. YouTube is full of them. And, of course, it's much more pleasant to watch someone else work than to actually have to do it yourself.
The secret is that there is no secret, The sad truth is that the art of painting is informed by a slow accumulation of familiarity with materials and techniques. That is the only practical artistic "mystery" there is or ever was.
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Storm over Mystic
(oil on canvas, 31.5in x 59in)
This painting gives a more than passing nod to one of Martin Johnson Heade's iconic images of thunderstorms executed just before and during the American Civil War. The quiet but ominous nature of the atmosphere in that series seemed to reflect the unease and trauma felt in America in that period. Something of the same foreboding of that historical moment haunts many today.
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My show at the Calderoni Gallery, the next Fábrica Aurora Art walk (Saturday, March 1, 5-8pm) reflect my interest in the natural world, and a preoccupation with the threats confronting our shared environment.
Website
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Keith Miller - opening
Calderoni Gallery, Fábrica Aurora Art Walk
Saturday, March 1, 5-8pm
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Keith Miller was born in Canada, but has spent most of his life abroad. At first travelling and working in Europe and S.E. Asia in the 1970's and 80's, he later settled in Mexico.
From the Gulf of Siam to the urban wilds of Manhattan his work explores a broad range of subjects reflecting a life of travel and observation. He recently crewed on a square-rigged sailing ship which crossed the Indian Ocean; recording the experience in another of his travel sketchbooks .
He has exhibited in in his native Canada as well as in the U.S., Mexico and the U.K. His paintings can be found in the collections of the United States Dept. of State and in a number of museums as well as private and corporate collections.
He's lived for the last 35 years in San Miguel de Allende where he now shares his home with a sometimes-faithful Schnauzer/Poodle mix.
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