Elaine Miller's "Winter & Burrito Palace" at the Quad City Arts Center -- through January 29.
Exhibit: Through Saturday, January 29
Closing Reception: Saturday, January 29, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Quad City Arts Center, 1715 Second Avenue, Rock Island IL
A beautiful exhibition of four large-scale paintings depicting the four seasons, along with a collection of smaller canvases, Elaine Miller: Uncommon Ground will be on display at Rock Island's Quad City Arts Center through January 29, the Chicago-based saying of her work, ”I paint to try to engage the spiritual qualities of nature that overwhelms our everyday existence whenever we can stop and notice.”
Miller grew up moving around from Ohio to Southern Ontario to North Carolina. After completing a BFA degree in printmaking, she moved back to Ohio to earn an MA degree, also in printmaking, and then to the Chicago area to finish an MFA in painting. Chicago has become her beloved hometown, where she developed her painting skills working as a scenic artist painting sets, backdrops, and murals for film, video, and theatre. This day job informed her art practice, while she continues to exhibit nationally and is moving toward public art as another aspect of her work. In addition, Miller is a recent recipient of business and City of Chicago grants towards a billboard project advertising the urban forest through a series of paintings.
In her artist statement at EMillerStudio.com, Miller says, "I work to convey the many layers of reality through the elements of the landscape genre. Sometimes the landscape is a record of the emotions and relationships of humanity, a witness to the big circle of seasons that continuously spins past our private triumphs and losses. Many times, the paintings are a documentation of the timeless magnificence of nature and a lamentation of its continuous degradation. I think of this work as a way to educate myself and the viewer and to reconnect us with our earlier history when we were so much closer to the natural world. Along with documenting these problems and observations, I am working to engage the spiritual qualities of nature that overwhelms our everyday existence whenever we can stop and notice. As we move together into uncertain prospects, it is the hope and purpose of my practice to work towards creative solutions to a more regenerative and ethical future."
In describing the artworks in her current Uncommon Ground exhibition, Miller stated, “This work is my life's work. It is a homage to the magnificence of nature and a lament for its decimation. In these paintings, I work to convey the many layers of reality through the elements of the landscape genre. Sometimes the landscape is a record of the emotions and relationships of humanity, a witness to the big circle of seasons that continuously spins part our private triumphs and losses. Many times, the paintings are a documentation of the timeless mysteries of nature and its continuing downward spiral. As we move together into uncertain prospects, it is the hope and purpose of my practice to work towards creative solutions to a regenerative and ethical future, a hope that sustains my work and life.”
A closing reception for Elaine Miller: Uncommon Ground will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on January 29, with the artist present and refreshments served. Regular Quad City Arts Center gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, admission is free, and more information on the exhibit on display through January 29 is available by calling (309)793-1213 and visiting QuadCityArts.com.
