Nick Miller (artist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nick Miller
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Nick Miller, Sligo studio
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| Born | 2 August 1962 London, England
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| Occupation | Visual artist, painter |
Nick Miller (born in 1962 in London) is a famous Irish artist. He is known for making painting and drawing exciting again. He works in traditional art styles like portraits, landscapes, and still-life.
He has a special way of working directly from real life. This method is sometimes called encounter painting. It means he paints what he sees and experiences right in front of him.
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About Nick Miller
In 1984, Nick Miller finished his studies at the University of East Anglia. He then moved to Ireland to follow his dream of painting. He has lived and worked in different parts of Ireland.
Since 1992, he has mostly lived in County Sligo. He also spent some time working in the United States. In 2018, after 34 years, he became an Irish citizen.
Nick Miller is now one of Ireland's most important modern painters. In 2001, he was chosen to join Aosdána. This is a special group that honors artists who have made a big impact on Irish Art.
Where His Art Has Been Shown
Nick Miller's art has been shown in many important places. These include big museums and galleries.
Some of his major solo shows include:
- The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) in Dublin. He had shows there in 1994 and again in 2015-2016.
- The Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin in 2003.
- The Butler Gallery in Kilkenny Castle in 2004.
- The Limerick City Gallery of Art and the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris in 2007.
- The New York Studio School in 2008.
His Art Career
The Mobile Studio
In 1997, Nick Miller did something very creative. He turned an old British Telecom truck into a mobile art studio. This special studio allowed him to paint large pictures outdoors. He could work on landscapes even when the weather was bad.
This mobile studio helped him create many artworks for about 15 years. He explored landscapes by painting what he saw from inside the truck. These paintings are called "Truckscapes." They often show the truck's doorway, which was covered in paint, as part of the view. It was like the truck itself was meeting nature.
Some famous "Truckscapes" include "From Cogan's Shed" (2004). This painting is now in the National Gallery of Ireland. Another version from 2007 is at the Limerick City Gallery of Art. "Whitethorn, truck-view" (2000-2001) is at the The Irish Museum of Modern Art.
Painting People: Portraits
Painting portraits, or pictures of people, is a very important part of Miller's art. He believes that every artwork is like a memory. It's a record of a real meeting or "encounter" he had while painting.
From 1996 to 2000, he made a series of large drawings called "CLOSER." He drew people he knew well, like family and friends. These were unusual portraits. For example, he drew the Irish artist Corban Walker in a piece called Corban (1996).
He made these drawings very close up. He would often sit face-to-face with his subjects. Sometimes, they would even be lying on the paper he was drawing on!
Nick Miller has painted many different people. He painted the famous author John McGahern in 1998. This painting is in The Niland Collection in Sligo. He also painted a full picture of John Hogan in 2004. John Hogan was a farmer and Miller's neighbor for many years. This painting is now in the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin.
In 2014, Nick Miller won the first-ever Hennessy Portrait Prize. This award included a special job: to paint the Irish musician Donal Lunny. This painting is now part of the National Portrait Collection. Miller won the prize for his 2013 painting called "Last sitting: Portrait of Barrie Cooke." Barrie Cooke was a fellow artist and friend who passed away in 2014. Both of these paintings are in the National Gallery of Ireland.
Responding to Edward McGuire
In 2014, the Irish Museum of Modern Art invited Nick Miller to do something unique. They asked him to create art inspired by the studio of another famous Irish painter, Edward McGuire. McGuire was known for his portraits and still-life paintings.
Miller spent time at the museum with McGuire's art supplies and personal items. He painted still-life pictures of objects and the many stuffed birds McGuire used to paint. Miller also invited some of McGuire's old models to sit for him. They talked about Edward McGuire, sometimes more than 30 years after they had posed for him.
The exhibition that came from this project was called Nick Miller and the Studio of Edward McGuire. It showed both artists' works on similar topics. It also included an exhibit of McGuire's studio items.
Still Life Paintings
Nick Miller also works to make still-life painting new and exciting. Still life means painting objects that don't move, like fruit or flowers. He often mixes still life with portraits.
Since 2011, he has been painting natural things like flowers, weeds, branches, and even seaweed. He puts them in different vases. These paintings are called Vessels: Nature Morte.
Art critic Jackie Wullschläger said about these paintings: "Still life is always about holding time. But Miller's quickly made paintings also show growth to decay. It's almost like they speed up time." He painted these works over several years to feel close to his mother as she was dying.
In his more recent "Rootless" paintings, Miller makes these still-life works much bigger. They show how things can break apart and come back together. They also show how important nature is in our lives.
