When Fine Art Connoisseur editor Peter Trippi suggested I look at the work of Adam Miller for a possible portrait commission, I was immediately thrilled. Peter set up a session in New York and I flew in for some business and a portrait in April 2009.
Adam and I met in his Brooklyn studio, which is in a large, old warehouse that houses many artists' studios. It reminded me of similar studio building I visited in Moscow. I was delighted to meet Adam and hear his story, and I'm very encouraged to find a new breed of young figurative artists creating a new movement. Adam worked incredibly fast, and within an hour had a likeness and large canvas filled. After a few more hours together, Adam had accomplished enough to set me on my way and fine tune the painting, which ended up in his 2009 show at the Art Bar Gallery in Tiburon, CA.
Born in 1969, Adam knew what he wanted to do from childhood, and apprenticed with local Portland, OR, artist Allen Jones. He later dropped out of high school to pursue his education as an artist, and at age 16, ended up studying classical painting techniques at the Florence Academy in Italy for four years. He arrived in New York and has been supporting himself since. Adam has incredible ambition, which was shown by the giant canvas he set up for our session. Knowing there would eventually be an exhibition of these paintings, he stated, "I want to be the biggest and stand out."
Adam told me of his story, his passion for painting, and how he was paying the bills in between commissions and sales of his paintings: He has been restoring the art in cathedrals. With the entrepreneurial spirit of his father, Adam hired some fellow artists trained in the classics and has taken on projects others would shy away from — painting in high spots from scaffolding. The outcomes have been beautiful.
Outside the studio