Stuart McAlpine Miller plays with opacity in his highly technical paintings that explore modern culture and the media’s fixation with celebrity. Using subtle tones of paint, McAlpine Miller creates the illusion that multiple transparent paintings are laid over each other, forming visual collages saturated with hidden meaning.
Taking attractive female models and retro cartoon characters as his subjects, McAlpine Miller’s pop art inspired works portray the idea of an energy-laden consumer society. Using nostalgic imagery, he questions the value we place on beauty and the material, while using compelling and evocative visuals to depict fading memories and future hopes.
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Since graduating from Glasgow School of Art in 1990, Stuart McAlpine Miller has received wide acclaim. He was shortlisted for the Provost Award at Kelvingrove Art Galleries and Museums in 1996 and has since exhibited his work worldwide.
McAlpine Miller is the artist in residence at the prestigious Savoy Hotel in London, following in the footsteps of Claude Monet and James Whistler. As the hotel’s artist in residence, McAlpine Miller has immersed himself in the rich history of the luxury London landmark. Set in the opulent Covent Garden district, the Savoy dates back to the 1880s. McAlpine Miller has spent time sifting through the hotel’s archives, using elements from the Savoy’s past and present in his intricately layered works.
Eight of his paintings were unveiled at the hotel in November 2012, including A Time For Reflection which hangs in the Thames Foyer, a stunning tea room at the heart of the Savoy. His works were inspired by the long list of illustrious guests that have stayed at the hotel, including Marilyn Monroe, Katharine Hepburn and Charlie Chaplin.
Away from his work at the Savoy Hotel, McAlpine Miller has concentrated his attentions on his solo exhibitions around the world. In March 2016, he received critical acclaim for his exhibition at the Hoerle-Guggenheim Gallery in New York. In 24 new works, he pulled imagery from fashion magazines, advertisements and cartoons, fusing them together in impressively photorealistic paintings.
McAlpine Miller’s genius use of oil paints showcases his innate understanding of colour, so much so that his creations could be wrongly perceived as being entirely digital. His multi-faceted paintings give a different experience each time they are viewed, encouraging the viewer to reevaluate fame, desire and societal values.
More recently, the artist has been licensed by Warner Brothers to create a series of paintings inspired by the fantastical writings of JK Rowling. These will be on public display in early 2017.