Emily Marie Miller’s glazed, luminescent oil paintings engage a narrative of descent: the maiden’s descent into the underworld, her transformation into a chthonic being, and her subsequent re-emergence into the light with a deeper understanding of mortality and the cosmic order. Miller’s siren-like figures reflect and challenge the societal notions of sensuality, reclaiming ownership of nakedness and feminine power.
Emily Marie Miller (b. 1991, St Petersburg, Florida) grew up between Pennsylvania and Florida. Miller studied sculpture at the University of Florida, graduating in 2013. Upon graduating, she immediately segued into painting, using her own body as a model to mirror contemporary poses of the contemporary feminine ideal. The resulting noir compositions on canvas echo a performance-like event, with the artist staging photographs of herself as the embattled heroine posturing her body as a mirror to the depths of the feminine archetype.
Miller moved to New York in 2015, and in the summer of 2018 was included in the group show Seed, curated by Yvonne Force, at Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York City. Since then, she has participated in group shows in New York, Los Angeles, and Düsseldorf. Her work has been published in ArtMaze Magazine and Playboy. Miller recently exhibited her debut solo show during the fall of 2019 at Barney Savage Gallery in Tribeca.