GREG MILLER NEW WORKS ALEJANDRO GEHRY
WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY BERGAMOT STATION ARTS CENTER 2525 MICHIGAN AVE., E-1 SANTA MONICA, CA 90404 P 310-453-0909 F 310-453-0908 www.williamturnergallery.com
GREG MILLER Drawing on the cultural and geographic influences of his California roots, Greg Miller explores images of the American urban and rural landscape of the midtwentieth century. The work grabs us nostalgically, rousing a shared cultural memory, but also teaches something of their lingering pull on contemporary perception. Labeled a “neo-pop” and “post-pop” artist by such critics as Donald Kuspit and Peter Frank, Miller does indeed draw from the pop-cultural imagery that saturated American consciousness during the 1950’s and 1960’s. It was a time during which advertising and text became indelibly encrypted into our experience of everyday life. Life as “advertised” and
life as “lived” were insuperably intertwined on the pages of “LIFE” and “LOOK” magazines, on television shows, commercials, billboards, hotel signs, romance novels and even matchbook covers as never before. Miller’s paintings excavate this imagery and often appear as unreconstructed fragments of these signs, drips, patterns and phrases. These form the layers of Miller’s pop cultural imagery, both literally and figuratively. Greg Miller’s work is featured in numerous museum and private collections, including those of the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation and Charles Saatchi Foundation. The Get Go, a volume of his writings, photography and paintings, was published in 2010, and the first comprehensive monograph on the artist, Signs of the Nearly Actual, was published in 2008. Miller spends his time between Austin, TX and Los Angeles, CA.
GREG MILLER
Hotel, mixed media and oil on canvas, 48” x 48”, 2012
GREG MILLER
Hot Rods, mixed media and oil on canvas, 48” x 48”, 2012
GREG MILLER
20th Century Fox, mixed media and oil on canvas, 48” x 60”, 2012
GREG MILLER
LA, mixed media and oil on canvas, 40” x 40”, 2012
GREG MILLER
Ace In The Hole, mixed media and oil on canvas, 48” x 60”, 2012
GREG MILLER
Splash, mixed media and oil on canvas, 45” x 70”, 2011
ALEJANDRO GEHRY Since childhood, Gehry has always been deeply interested in the history of military uniforms. He continues to paint the figure, and these new works address the significance of historic military wardrobe by incorporating the decorative and ornate headwear of the First World War. In the beginning of the war, helmets were beautifully designed as regalia for the countries they represented. However, as the war continued, helmets would evolve in design to better serve their utilitarian function as protection. The women represented in these paintings are wearing designated helmets of the countries that fought each other. These paintings also focus on representations of women (or lack there of ) in the portrayals of combat history, as well as the generalizations of the roles they played during wartime.
Since moving back to his native Los Angeles in 2002, Gehry has primarily worked in oils on a large-scale. Honing in on his skills and aesthetic development, Gehry finds himself pushing against societal boundaries. “My work at times is described as somewhat ‘erotic’ and this is due to the fact that human sexuality is a subject matter that has always interested me. I push these boundaries because sex and sexuality is seen as taboo by so many people in the United States.” Alejandro graduated with a BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. He is a teacher of illustration and figurative painting at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and the Brentwood Art Center. Born in Santa Monica in 1976, Gehry currently lives and works in Venice.
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up #15, acrylic on canvas, 48” x 72”
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up #1, acrylic on canvas, 48” x 72”
Gold Caps, 2012, 16x20, acrylic, automotive paint, and resin on panel
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up #4, acrylic on canvas, 48” x 72”
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up #12, acrylic on canvas, 48” x 72”
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up #2a, acrylic on canvas, 60” x 84”
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up (S) #5, gouche & colored pencil on paper, 8”x15”
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up (S) #20, gouche & colored pencil on paper, 15”x22”
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up (S) #18, gouche & colored pencil on paper, 15x22
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up (S) #19, gouache & colored pencil, 15” x 22”
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up (S) #17, gouache & colored pencil, 15” x 22”
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up (S) #13, gouache & colored pencil, 15” x 22”
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up (Portrait) #2, gouache & colored pencil, 16” x 20”
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up (Portrait) #3, gouache & colored pencil, 16” x 20”
ALEJANDRO GEHRY
Empires Make Up (S) #14, gouache & colored pencil, 15” x 22”