Anthony Miler

Miler received his MFA from The City College of New York, CUNY in 2008, and studied in the UK at the Central College Abroad and the London Metropolitan University in 2004. While Miler initially focused on abstract expressionism and on an interplay of graphite lines — thickets of sweeping, gestural marks coalesced into amorphous faces and scenes — giving form to inner feelings and emotions on canvas — his mode of expression has changed dramatically in recent years. Now, the graphite mark-making has returned, albeit in a finer, more controlled manner, dictated, in small part, by the material Miler uses. Incorporating cross-hatching and other delicate line work to shade his abstracted forms, the artist uses the warp of the tightly woven canvas to direct the line, implicating the materials in their own act of transformation.

Miler's unique motifs may look like birds at first glance. However, they are not depictions of one particular thing, but a portrayal of the beauty of form in an evolutionary context. They can be considered examples of evolution without human beings.

It is impossible to summarize Miler's work through art historical references alone. Miler is firmly entrenched in contemporary life, in a society where digital and industrial methods of production are multiplying dehumanized forms and sleek interfaces. In his insistent defamiliarization of human forms and his mixing of traditional and unconventional art materials, Miler's work embodies a raw critique of our cultural moment.