Surf's Up!
Introducing Michael Miller
If you've got surfing on the brain -- Miller's paintings are for you. His work is all about surfing -- the scale, force and feeling of waves, the act of surfing and all its feats of physical endurance. To round things out, he also throws in a bit of surfing lore and Hawaiian wave rituals.
I love the reverence of these paintings -- to the waves, to the sport -- and how they can drop you into the aquaeous trance of being one with the sea. You'll notice that in addition to using acrylic on wood panels, Miller also incorporates actual materials involved in surfing, painting in egg tempera on polynesian plywood (referencing old-school wooden surfboards) and framing the work in neoprene (a finishing flourish that nods to the wetsuit).
In the artist's words: "It is this swell that rolls into harbor, so clean and so beyond storm, that has traveled calm water for hundreds, even thousands of miles, that drives my pictures."
Did you know that ancient Hawaiians prayed for big waves by swatting the water with pohue hue, beach morning-glory strands? They hoped these ripples would be answered by bigger ones, and they chanted, "Ku Mai! Ku Mai! Knalu nui mai Kahiki mai" (Arise, arise you great waves from Kahiki). I just love that! Thanks for that pearl of wisdom Michael.
Inquiries? Please contact the artist via email.
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
It's great to see Michael Miller's new work!