New Books for the New Year. Harland Miller: XXX
Featuring over 100 of his letter paintings, studio pics, and a VERY lively interview with The Design Museum’s Tim Marlow, the artist with a love of language is back.
A new year always brings new books and one we’re especially looking forward to among our upcoming art releases is Harland Miller: XXX.
You probably know Harland from our previous book with him In Shadows I Boogie and the limited edition print Hz So Good. You can read an interview with Miller about the edition here.
Our latest collaboration with him, Harland Miller: XXX, is a celebration of language and letters, focusing exclusively on the Yorkshire, UK, artist’s popular series of Letter Paintings. It features over 100 works – many of which have never been seen before. The book is published in March.
A spread from Harland Miller: XXX - artwork © Harland Miller
From paint splattered watercolours on graph paper to hard-edged letters in his trademark colour palette, Miller’s playful and graphically vernacular paintings have an enduring appeal, with references spanning music, literature, self-help manuals, and medieval iconography.
But despite his oft-qutoed quip that ‘I’m no fan of using ten words when 20 will do’, Miller’s letter paintings actually work to simplify language – often focussing on monosyllabic words such as: YES, BOSS, LUV, IF, and many more.
A spread from Harland Miller: XXX - artwork © Harland Miller
The artist’s inspirations are explored further in the book in a lively interview with Tim Marlow, current director of London’s Design Museum and ex-director of The Royal Academy.
Structured – how else? - as an A-Z, their journey through the alphabet together touches on a wide array of subjects, from Medieval manuscripts and Sex Pistols album covers, to David Hockney’s swimming pool paintings.
A spread from Harland Miller: XXX - artwork © Harland Miller
Interwoven with new studio photographs of Miller revealing several of the artworks in progress – the book demystifies this much-loved artist, offering a rare view into his everyday, but highly unusual, process.
Harland Miller: XXX opens with an insightful essay by renowned critic and curator Hettie Judah, which delves into Miller’s world of words, unpacking some of his key linguistic references alongside art historical influences such as Willem de Koonig.
There will be a limited number of signed editions of Harland Miller: XXX available on Phaidon.com and the book will be accompanied by what is expected will be a highly sought after limited edition print.
A spread from Harland Miller: XXX - artwork © Harland Miller
You can pre-order Harland Miller: XXX here..
We’ll be announcing details of the exclusive, limited edition print in the near future. Sign up for our emails to gain access. Meanwhile, you can find the fully revised and updated version of In Shadows I Boogie here.