 Howard House presents "Evicted," an exhibition of new painting by Seattle based artist Mark Takamichi Miller. Evicted is Miller's fifth solo exhibition with the gallery
Miller continues his exploration of found photographs as his subject material. The artist has in the past been true to the composition of the original photograph, letting the random photograph dictate the composition of the paintings. With the portraits in "Evicted" the paintings in this exhibition have been completely removed from the canvass and are mounted directly to the gallery wall. Their size is intimate, with the smallest measuring a miniature two and a half inches tall.
Images courtesy of the artist & Howard House
 In previous exhibitions Miller has used photography as a jump off point for the versatility and durability of painting. Working from photographs can lead to flat, lifeless paintings which do not reflect the texture of the original printed image. In this exhibition, Miller builds up his paint to portray the sculptural aspects of the composition not apparent in a photo. Composed with thickly layered paint, the portraits recall cameos or three dimensional color daguerreotypes.
"A man named Paul gave me this roll of film. He found it in a dumpster along with a whole household full of belongings. He said this often happens in his neighborhood after a forced eviction. These were the last pictures these people took before the disruption. They were painted on glass and let dry and then scraped off to hang on the wall without any canvas. In the larger ones there is a hidden piece of wood imbedded to add stiffness. They are pure oil paint without any additives. The paintings ... range from 6" to 20". The other ones ... are done from the index prints and are 2.5"" Mark Takamichi Miller
The roll of film from which the paintings were made was found in a central district dumpster along with the furniture and household affects of a family forced out by eviction. The context of the paintings is very socially charged with the last pictures taken by a family with a young baby perhaps days before they were forced from their home.
Accompanying "Evicted," Howard House is hosting the John Erickson Museum of Art (JEMA), a miniature museum-in-a-box. JEMA features "One Hour Photo Paintings," an exhibition of Mark Takamichi Miller's paintings curated by Sean Miller.
In 2001 Mark Takamichi Miller was the recipient of the prestigious Neddy Artist Fellowship Award given by the Behnke Foundation. His work was recently included in the Tacoma Art Museum's permanent collection. Miller received his MFA from the University of Iowa in 1991.
HOWARD HOUSE is located
604 SECOND AVENUE
IN THE PIONEER SQUARE DISTRICT
ONE BLOCK NORTH OF THE SMITH TOWER
GALLERY HOURS: TUES - SAT 10:30 - 5:00
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