WAUSAU, WISCONSIN: The Woodson Art Museum 2013 Master Artist, who will be honored during the Museum’s 38th annual “Birds in Art” exhibition opening, shares insights during a presentation on Saturday, September 7.
Terry Miller presents his Master Artist talk, “The ABCs of an Artist’s Life,” 9:30-10:30 a.m., before “Birds in Art” artists demonstrate a variety of mediums and techniques during Artists in Action, 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., on opening day of the exhibition, Saturday, September 7.
Browse galleries to see fresh artistic takes on birds by some of the world’s most talented artists, portraying unexpected perspectives, amusing poses, and majestic bearing. “Birds in Art,” a perennial fall favorite, presents 125 all-new paintings, graphics, and sculptures created by artists who bring a global perspective to their passion for birds. The exhibition features fourteen artworks by Master Artist Terry Miller, who works solely with graphite, yielding stunning shades of black, white, and gray.
Miller, the Woodson’s 33rd Master Artist, works exclusively in various grades of graphite portraying textural contrasts of wood, stone, water, fur, feathers, and other natural elements, to bring depth, dimension, and emotion to his artworks.
“I portray what I see in the world around me in shades of black, white, and grey,” said Miller, who will receive the Master Wildlife Artist Medal during “Birds in Art” opening day festivities.
In announcing the 2013 Master, director Kathy Foley said, “Terry Miller is the consummate artist – a keen observer, articulate spokesman, and superb draftsman. While he is differentiated by his medium, he has mastered it, yielding graphite works that are without equal.”
Miller’s work has been selected for inclusion in “Birds in Art” twenty-one times since his inaugural year in 1991 – every year except 1997. His artwork was featured in a solo exhibition, “Unknown Bridges,” at the Woodson Art Museum in 2008 and in a book published to complement the exhibition. Miller’s forty artworks juxtaposed abstract bridge structures with softer, realistic depictions of animals.
“Joining the ranks of the previously named Masters is quite an honor,” Miller said. “I can’t say enough about what being a part of ‘Birds in Art’ has meant to me and done for my career over the last two decades. The recognition that this internationally renowned exhibition brings to each juried artist can open many doors. On behalf of all who work in monochromatic mediums, I hope this personal recognition for my drawings will serve to enhance and further a wider appreciation for all others who work in charcoal, scratchboard, graphite, and the like.”
Miller, who lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, was born in Iowa, spent his school years in northern New Jersey, and graduated from The Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts with a degree in design in the late 1960s. After working for several years as an architectural draftsman in Manhattan, he spent the next decade as a special education teacher near Atlanta and honing his graphite drawing skills in his spare time before pursuing art full time in 1990.
Four decades of extensive travels throughout the mountains and coastal areas of western North America and in eastern and southern Africa have yielded reference material, sketch books, and inspiration for his work. Scenes from central Maryland, Miller’s home since 2001, also surface in his depiction of barns, landscapes, and domesticated animals.
Miller’s artwork has been added to private and corporate collections in the U.S. and Europe, featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions, traveled in “Birds in Art” and other touring exhibitions, and is included in “Where Elephants Go To Die,” a book of poetry about Africa, and in four books in the “Strokes of Genius: The Best of Drawing” series.
The 2013 “Birds in Art” exhibition, on view September 7 through November 10, will feature more than 100 original paintings, sculptures, and graphics created within the last two years by artists from throughout the world and a selection of more than a dozen works by Terry Miller. The exhibition’s full-color catalogue, featuring an essay about Miller, will be available for purchase at the Woodson Art Museum. For more information, visit www.lywam.org, e-mail the Museum at museum@lywam.org, or call 715-845-7010.
Woodson Art Museum
Hours: Tuesday – Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Thursdays during Birds in Art 9:00 am – 7:30 pm
Saturday – Sunday Noon – 5:00 pm
Closed Monday and holidays
Admission: Always Free Admission
Phone: 715.845.7010
Fax: 715.845.7103
Email: museum@lywam.org
Location: Franklin and 12th Streets, Wausau, Wisconsin 54403-5007
(700 N. 12th Street)
Online: www.lywam.org
