Harland Miller

(British, born 1964)

Harland Miller is a British artist and author who is best known for his large-scale, photo-realistic paintings, posters, and prints of vintage Penguin book covers. A critically acclaimed novelist as well as an influential painter, his practice explores the combination of image and text, similar in scope to American artist Ed Ruscha. “There's always been this compunction to write on pictures,” he has observed. The covers he paints often feature his own invented, sardonic titles combined with the iconic Penguin logo. His muted tones and painterly brushstrokes imbue his canvases with the worn character of a used book, yet often convey subversive sociopolitical critiques. Born in 1964 in Yorkshire, United Kingdom, Miller received both his BA and MA from the Chelsea College of Art in London, where he currently lives and works. His solo exhibitions include those held at the White Cube in London, Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York, and the Royal Academy of Arts in London, among others.