Octavia Art Gallery is pleased to announce our second solo exhibition of recent oil paintings by Edward Bear Miller. Miller’s figurative, gestural, and bold representations of our contemporary surroundings are at once modern and timeless. Rooted in the tradition of plein-air realism, Miller applies his paint rapidly and generously producing vivid images that portray local landscapes, urban-industrial spaces, and figures in familiar settings.

Inspired by the mystical energies that inflamed the work of Dove, Carr, Hartley, Marin and Bischoff, Miller’s paintings exercise a corporeal presence while describing a figurative and emotional world on the picture plane. The artist’s archetypal paintings of waterways, bridges, nudes, and boats achieve an immediate sincerity and narrative in their handling. Although representational in nature, Miller’s stylistic use of paint and lyrical compositions also imbue a graceful abstraction to these canvases, thereby provoking the viewer into contemplation.

Miller’s family is deeply rooted in Louisiana and the artist savors his ability to paint in and around New Orleans and Iberia Parish.