BIOGRAPHY
I am an artist-photographer dedicated to creating and exhibiting my work.
I also have experience as a gallerist curating photography exhibits. I launched Peter Miller Fine Art Photography Gallery in Providence Rhode Island in 2014 to fulfill an unmet need for the photography community. I managed over 20 individual and group exhibits, and 10 professional workshops in the first two years. New opportunities brought me to California in 2016, yet I didn’t want to close the gallery. In order to continue the mission, I conceived, founded, recruited a board of directors, and was Chief Evangelist for the Providence Center for Photographic Arts (PCPA). PCPA hosted another 14 exhibits, monthly community events, and workshops before closing in March 2018. It has now re-organized as a new entity.
As a national and international award winning art director and photographer, I spent decades pushing the boundaries of visual expression and technical capabilities. I established my marketing communications business, Peter Miller Art & Design, LLC, in 1992 and worked for major imaging companies including Agfa-Gevaert, Polaroid, and Kodak, promoting their international brands. My business services include strategic planning, creative development, photography, video, design for print, web, and interactive media. I provide project management for large, complex communications efforts including product launches for new technologies and capital campaigns for non-profits.
My formal art education includes a BA in Art from SUNY Geneseo, graduate painting studios at Rochester Institute of Technology, and an MFA in painting and photography from the University of Chicago. I was introduced to graphics technology early in the digital revolution. I learned how to design, paint, retouch, and composite on mainframe computers, mastering skills as technologies advanced.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My images are ruminations on man and place, habitats and habitants, chance encounters, and the infinite details of the visible world.
The camera and I are part of the string of events to create an image. On my long walks through the city, I choose a scene and then capture frames of strangers unpredictability entering and exiting the world in front of me. Are the chance connections with these individuals established as a random sequence of outcomes? Or are they pre-determined?
I attempt to get close to my subjects and capture all the details from foreground to background. I want to communicate an intense experience of the environment, where every square inch is important. Rendering the details increases the sense of literalness — a permanent capture of a single ephemeral moment.
The imaging technology in my camera is capable of capturing incredible detail. Years ago, as a painter I created art using photos as reference. The reference photos were low quality so I invented details in paint from my imagination, a long tedious process. Today, the camera makes my process far more efficient to produce hyper-realistic scenes.