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Garry Fabain Miller learned photography from his father, who was a professional portrait photographer in Bristol. After graduating from school, he worked as a documentary photographer until 1976, when an exhibition with works by Marie Yates, Hamish Fulton and Richard Long, among others, guided him toward landscape scenes and away from documentary photography. Working from his home, which overlooked the Severn estuary, Miller created evocative seascapes that dealt with the passing of time and reflected his search for balance and harmony.
In 1985, Miller not only abandoned his landscape subject matter, but also his camera and film, and began to work directly with photographic material, turning light onto Cibachrome paper to produce unique, ethereal images. The light source for these two groups of photographs was filtered through glass containers filled with water or oil in order to control form, brightness and tonal values. Intense color, visual nuance and emotive power distinguish the resultant abstract works. Each print was created without a negative in a darkened room, making the result unpredictable.
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Miller's growing artistic reputation and consuming interest in light made him the perfect candidate for a summer residency in 1999 at Petworth House. One of the greatest homes in the South of England, its architecture spans the 14th and the 19th century. His commission was to create a body of work that would explore the West Sussex historic buildings cultural and artistic associations. During the 1820's and 1830's, J.M.W. Turner brought attention to Petworth through his abstracted and light-filled watercolors created during his stay.
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Garry Fabian Miller (British, b. 1957)
Petworth Window, May 12, 2000
Dye destruction print
Courtesy of the artist
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Miller was attracted to Turner's fascination with light, which gave him a starting point for this series. He thought about “a singular light entering a dark room” and the intersecting elements of Petworths extensive façade of windows. For these images, light was directed horizontally through a blue glass container filled with water. He built a screen of wood obstructions in front of the photographic paper in order to form his elegant compositions, ranging from simple cruciform shapes to densely packed, room-like spaces. The stark blue-white color is evocative of cold moonlight and the residual light Miller experienced when walking under the dark night sky in Manaton on Dartmoor, where he has lived and worked since 1989.
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Garry Fabian Miller (British, b. 1957)
Burning (with Gwen), August 1, 2002
Dye destruction print
Courtesy of the artist
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A second summer residency in 2000 at the Graves Art Gallery in Sheffield, England, afforded Miller the opportunity to reflect on the work and life of artist Gwen John. He selected an intimate interior still-life scene by John, A Corner of the Artist Room, Paris (ca. 1907-09), from the Graves collection as the turning point for a new series of photographs. He was attracted to the paintings warm Parisian light, breadth of color and angular forms defined by soft illumination.
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