Biography
Michelle A M Miller is a multidisciplinary artist whose creative work spans drawing, writing, bookmaking, sculpture, painting, printmaking, installation and public art. She has been awarded residencies at Women’s Studio Workshop, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and IS Projects, and she is a grantee of the Puffin Foundation. Her work has been presented at Booksmart, CODEX, E/AB, NADA Miami, and she has participated in group exhibitions at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, Florida Atlantic University, and the Art and Culture Center/Hollywood. Her work is held in public and private collections throughout the US. Miller received her BFA in Studio Art from Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, and her BA in Art History from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. She lives and works in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Statement
I am currently focused on my ongoing series of drawings on handmade paper using crushed oyster shells salvaged from local restaurants. These works are embedded with my past experiences working in an environmental testing laboratory, filtered through my dreams and memories. Previously, I have made graphite drawings on paper, paintings, sculptural objects, various prints, objects, installations, and public art. My latest artist book, Erebid/Materia, was published in 2023 by Women’s Studio Workshop.
My visual vocabulary traces energy flows, follows photons, and re-imagines the subatomic particles of which all matter is composed. Complex geometric shapes layered with undulating waveforms recall ancient mysteries or navigational charts from the future. Loosely symmetrical, there are shimmers of the spiritual and sublime, with each work functioning as a meditation that skirts ideas of entanglement and interconnectedness but hints at something more.
The materials I use are an important part of my process and I continue to explore ways of making that mitigate the toll my practice takes on my health and the environment. I salvage, cure, crush, grind, blend, tear, burn, and mix. My rough approach to hand paper making creates a tantalizing textural surface for drawing. I employ a limited palette of neutral earth tones, from the creamy alabasters of oyster shell to the rich warm charcoals of ash.
My affinity for geometric abstraction supports a heightened awareness, a visual and emotional experience through art. It allows me to be murky in a world that seems to crave harsh absolutes. As I work, time stands still and new worlds unfurl. Art generates a unique sort of energy and power — the ability to inspire hope, support healing, or illuminate hidden truths — and it is my calm in the storm.
Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
2014 BFA, Studio Art (Painting), Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
1997 BA, Art History, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
AWARDS and RESIDENCIES
2023 Artist’s Book Residency Grant, Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY
2022 Puffin Foundation Grant Award
2020 IS Projects Existent Books Residency, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
2019 IS Projects Artist Residency, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
2019 Atlantic Center for the Arts, Residency #175 with Sook Jin Jo, New Smyrna Beach, FL
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Ouroboros, IS Projects, Miami, FL (currently on view)
2019 Terratopias for a Fantastic Future II, the GalleRE at Resource Depot, West Palm Beach, FL
2019 Terratopias for a Fantastic Future, IS Projects, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Visualizing Climate Disruption, Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, Lake Worth, FL
2023 Pink, Arts Warehouse, Delray Beach, FL
2022 BookBound: The Art of Books and Printmaking, Art and Culture Center/Hollywood, Hollywood, FL, curated by Meaghan Kent
2021 Into the Fold: Collaborative Book Arts in South Florida, Coral Springs Museum of Art, Coral Springs, FL
2021 Expanding Printmaking, Ritter Gallery, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
2020 Waste to Wonder, the GalleRE at Resource Depot, West Palm Beach, FL
2019 Artists Draw their Studios, Art and Culture Center, Hollywood, FL
2019 Here (Local/Non-Local), Palm Beach State College, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
2018 Summer Salad, Tauni de Lesseps Art Gallery at Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, FL
2017 More Women Painting, co-production of design sublime, Available Space and Girls’ Club, design sublime, Miami, FL
2016 Nature Preserved, Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, Lake Worth, FL
2015 CONTEMPO, Lighthouse Art Center Museum & Gallery, Tequesta, FL
2014 The Triumph of Detritus, 1310 Gallery, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
2014 PRAXIS: BFA Exhibition, Ritter Gallery, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
PROJECTS
2020 Outside the Box, Palm Beach County Art in Public Places, FL
2019 Nocturne in Process, in collaboration with musician, artists & choreographer, Joan James Harris Theater, Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, FL
2019 Impressed Palm Beach, Fine Art Print Fair, co-organized with Ground Printmaking and IS Projects, the GalleRE at Resource Depot, West Palm Beach, FL
2019 Impressed Palm Beach: Fine Art Print Panel, Moderator, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS
2019 Intersection of Art & the Environment: Discussion with Michelle AM Miller, Resource Depot, West Palm Beach, FL
2019 Artist Talk, IS Projects, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Bainbridge Island Museum of Art
Baylor University
Bucknell University
Harvard University
Jaffe Center for Book Arts
Library of Congress
New York Public Library
Ringling College of Art
Rochester Institute of Technology
Scripps
Smith College
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Delaware
University of Indiana, Bloomington
University of Miami, Special Collections
University of Michigan
University of Pittsburgh
Vassar College
Virginia Commonwealth University
Washington University (St.Louis)
Yale University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Meet Michelle A M Miller.” Bold Journey, 9 February, 2024.
Featured artist. Young Space, no.10. 3 January, 2024.
“Rising Stars: Meet Michelle A M Miller.” Voyage MIA, 30 November, 2023.
“Meet Michelle A M Miller.” Canvas Rebel, 7 September, 2023.
Engoren, Jan. “The art of climate change.” Florida Weekly, 9 February 2023.
“Mixed-media art exhibition in Lake Worth Beach probes effects of climate change, marine life.” Interview conducted by Wilkine Brutus. WLRN, 3 February 2023.
“ArtISts Connecting South Florida Episode 1. Michelle A M Miller.” YouTube, uploaded by Etheard Joseph, 3 February 2023.
“Cultural Council show explores climate change.” Florida Weekly, 19, January 2023.
Thomason, John. “Arts Warehouse Goes “Pink” In Latest, and Wryest, Exhibition.” Boca, 13 January 2023.
Lilly, Christiana. “Palette Cleanser.” Art & Culture of Palm Beach County, Winter 2023. 39.
Murray, Mary. “Cosmic Confluence.” Art & Culture of Palm Beach County, Winter 2021. 64.
Bat City Review, Issue 15, Austin, TX, 2019. 81-86.
“Meet Trailblazer Michelle AM Miller.” Voyage MIA Magazine | Miami City Guide, 7 Mar 2019.
Oxford American, Little Rock, AR, Fall 2016. 56-57.
Sjostrom, Jan. “Cultural Council installation show invites viewers to become part of the art.” Palm Beach Daily News, July 14, 2016.
Richard, Andrea. “The Triumph of Detritus Showcases ‘Rough Aesthetic’ of Found Items.” Broward Palm Beach New Times, June 26, 2014.
On View Magazine, April/June, 2014. 54.
Coastlines, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, 2013. Cover.