Tony K Miller

Art form, artistic practice and the aesthetic culture that informs my work.

My art has become a way through which I visually analyze the state of the world past and present and how it affects the human race. My environment and culture intrigue and inspire my work.

I was born and raised in Owen Sound Ontario in the fifties just at the beginning of the American civil rights movement and before the phrase “black pride” was first spoken. My experiences growing up suffering from racism and poverty led me to become fascinated with my African roots. It drove me to try and understand why and how this separate yet together society existed.

The psychological effects of the school system, religion and superstition and my one time almost nonexistent identity have influenced me. I have come to appreciate the beauty of my culture in addition to other cultures for the purpose of creative development.

My paintings are composed with recognizable and abstracted imagery. I work from reference drawings and borrowed images as well as models and plein air water colours studies. Historical documents and illustrations are woven into my paintings along with my original drawings to create a whole. My paintings in most cases are done on canvas or panels using mixed media such as acrylics, oils, enamels, latex, fabrics and found objects. The surface of my paintings are built up using several layers until I achieve the desired effect. 

My sculptures are created using cement, wood and found objects. I shape them using a combination of molds and carving tools.

My printmaking techniques are traditional Serigraphy, Lithography, Woodcuts and Intaglio.

My work has appeared in over forty group and solo exhibitions.

After reviewing "From The Soul" at the Royal Ontario Museum (where Joan Butterfield chose six of my recent paintings) Globe and Mail Critique R.M. Vaughn said, "One of my personal favorites in this vast collection was Tony K Miller's luminous, simultaneously festive and commemorative family portraits." He went on to say, "Part of me wonders where these artists are showing the rest of the year. Curators wake up."