Holly Miller, Soothe 1, 2013, Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas

Soothe 1 (Abstract Painting) Acrylic, graphite and thread on canvas - Unframed The threaded lines suggest a physical barrier that interrupts the shapes and stops them from connecting and at the same time a transparency is created that allows the viewer to enter through the lines onto the painted surface. The titles of each series can be interpreted as emotional, psychological and physical conditions. This work, part of the series Soothe is about a quiet interruption of threaded lines that connects and disconnects the two colors. The repetitive, regular lines create a bulge or welt in the negative space where the thread is behind the canvas and the puncture holes are emphasized. Holly Miller is an American abstract artist whose paintings strive to merge the optical with the tactile through the language of abstraction. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Communication through the touch (body language) has inspired her tactile abstract paintings. Miller's palette echoes the tones and hues of Italian industrial design from the 60's and 70's, while her shapes recall architecture and urban structures. Her work has a huge affinity to Fontana's physical approach to his paintings and Burri's tactile manipulation of the painting's surface. Ellsworth Kelly's bold shapes and colors have resonated with her on a purely optical level. Agnes Martin’s subtle, quiet, repetitive drawn lines, Fred Sandback’s strong architectural, minimal fiber lines drawn in space, Eva Hesse’s emotionally loaded structured webs, Richard Tuttle’s quirky and fresh drawings and humble objects, Bridget Riley's dynamic, optical compositions have left a deep impression on Miller inspiring her to carve out her own voice in Abstraction.