About Ali
Ali Miller is a narrative painter whose recent work explores such themes as the fear of the unknown and the phenomenon of perfection. Ali was raised in New York and received her BFA from Alfred University. After graduation, Ali attended the Chautauqua Art Institute for two summers. She continued to build on her technique by enrolling in classical painting courses at the New York Academy of Art. In 2010, Ali was accepted to the Maryland Institute College of Art as the recipient of the… more
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Michelangeolos
Beyond the Frame
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The Relationship #1: A Collaboration With Jonathan LatianoDetail
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The Relationship #2: A Collaboration With Jonathan LatianoMixed Media 48”x36”
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Good Morning BaltimoreDetail
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Good Morning BaltimoreOil and clay on panel 20”x36”
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Everything is Always Pinker on the Other SideInstallation side-view
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Everything is Always Pinker on the Other SideOil and clay on panel and wall 12”x12”
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The Spare RoomDetail
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The Spare RoomDetail
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The Spare RoomOil, clay, quarts, string, and graphite on wall and panel 24 ”x36”
Perfect Stages
My recent work intertwines personal fantasies and anxieties into surreal staged scenes. Through saturated colors, high contrast, and varied brushstrokes, I create exaggerated scenarios of a romantic world gone awry. I am interested in exploring the phenomenon of perfection in terms of ideal aesthetics, romance, and various painting methodologies; incorporating lux materials, such as quartz and amethyst, applying paint liberally so that it appears almost edible, and glazing sections to luminous perfection. These combined elements often create chaotic, theatrical environments that reflect my deepest fear: I am afraid that all of these sublime things cannot coexist. My paintings pose the danger and excitement of indulging in one’s fantasies, for they have the potential to be even more satisfying and engaging than reality.
More Bad Habits
I am a dreamer who often fantasizes about how the world around me could be more vibrant, rich, and entertaining. I use paint to explore layered psychological states by staging specific scenarios derived from visions that have flashed through my mind. My visions are particularly saturated with notions of the ideal, as presented in fairytales, fashion and architecture.
A popular philosophy in modern cognitive psychology states that the feelings we experience in life are a direct result of a complex chain of flash thoughts. During times of panic, fear, and excitement neurotransmitters fire so quickly that emotions become complex, confusing, and heightened. It can be challenging to distinguish between rational and irrational thoughts. I am fascinated by this melding of conscious reality and nightmarish or fantastic imaginings.
My overwhelming need to manipulate the real manifests itself in my artistic process. I paint the relics of my fantasies. My work is informed by elaborate theatrical costumes and scenery. I use the panel as a way to flatten complex melodramas into single, scenarios that can be analyzed and interpreted. The montage-like compositions, energetic rhythms and dream logic in my work calls to mind popular music videos.
My process involves working from photographs of live models, often including myself, natural or staged environments, and physical abstract sculptures. These sculptures are born out of the actual scraps of my life, including fabric, lace, brightly colored string, styrofoam, furniture, and tangled bits of broken accessories. I occasionally integrate my sculptural materials into my paintings, amplifying the notion of uncertainty and illusion. The formal elements and techniques that I employ are directed by the same impetus as the subject matter. My tendency to ruminate materializes in painstaking depictions of textures, patterns, miniature designs, and fastidious detail, all of which are executed with tiny paintbrushes. In contrast, my desire to revel in pleasurable and emotive fantasy causes me to focus on more liberal techniques--thick strokes with larger brushes. This creates tension within my work that is intensified by a desire for closure that this dichotomy renders impossible.
The result of my process is a space more ornate and more beautiful than that which I inhabit; it is at once the stage for the fantastical expectations of my life and the contemplative space for understanding the disparity between the real and its relation to the imagined.
A popular philosophy in modern cognitive psychology states that the feelings we experience in life are a direct result of a complex chain of flash thoughts. During times of panic, fear, and excitement neurotransmitters fire so quickly that emotions become complex, confusing, and heightened. It can be challenging to distinguish between rational and irrational thoughts. I am fascinated by this melding of conscious reality and nightmarish or fantastic imaginings.
My overwhelming need to manipulate the real manifests itself in my artistic process. I paint the relics of my fantasies. My work is informed by elaborate theatrical costumes and scenery. I use the panel as a way to flatten complex melodramas into single, scenarios that can be analyzed and interpreted. The montage-like compositions, energetic rhythms and dream logic in my work calls to mind popular music videos.
My process involves working from photographs of live models, often including myself, natural or staged environments, and physical abstract sculptures. These sculptures are born out of the actual scraps of my life, including fabric, lace, brightly colored string, styrofoam, furniture, and tangled bits of broken accessories. I occasionally integrate my sculptural materials into my paintings, amplifying the notion of uncertainty and illusion. The formal elements and techniques that I employ are directed by the same impetus as the subject matter. My tendency to ruminate materializes in painstaking depictions of textures, patterns, miniature designs, and fastidious detail, all of which are executed with tiny paintbrushes. In contrast, my desire to revel in pleasurable and emotive fantasy causes me to focus on more liberal techniques--thick strokes with larger brushes. This creates tension within my work that is intensified by a desire for closure that this dichotomy renders impossible.
The result of my process is a space more ornate and more beautiful than that which I inhabit; it is at once the stage for the fantastical expectations of my life and the contemplative space for understanding the disparity between the real and its relation to the imagined.
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The GardenOil on panel, 32"x46"
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A Spectacle for MyselfOil on Panel, 48"X36"
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The FountainOil on panel, 11"x8"
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Fly on the WallOil on Panel, 48"X36"
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ClosureOil on Panel 48”X60”
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It Happens Under the FallsOil on panel, 36”x24”
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We Have Your BackOil on panel, 14”x11”
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Watch YourselfOil on panel, 32”x24”