Gary Fabian Miller, one of the most progressive figures in fine art photography, makes a welcome return to Arnolfini in February 2023 to present ADORE, a major exhibition celebrating lifetime of practice.
With a deep understanding of darkness and light, Fabian Miller has committed his life to the inherent romanticism of the darkroom, exploring both the dawn and the dusk in a constant pursuit to create 'something that wouldn't have existed before'. ADORE invites audiences on this journey, exploring the artist's 'camera-less' practice and weaving in work by the artists, writers and thinkers that have inspired him across the years.
Arranged around different elements of Fabian Miller's practice, ADORE reveals an artist of immense patience - returning to capture the same grove of hawthorn trees throughout the seasons, year after year - and for whom the slowing of time has taken on a deep-rooted importance.
Beginning with images from Sections of England: The Sea Horizon (1976-77) - originally shown at Arnolfini in 1979 in Fabian Miller's first ever solo exhibition when he was just 19 years old - the artist's deep affinity with nature is established. Followed by early examples of his pre-abstract practice, ADORE introduces audiences to just some of the recurring characters, such as the hawthorn tree and the plants and flowers that align his garden and stretch out into the surrounding hedgerows.
Laying the foundations for the key artistic concerns of light and darkness, sunrise and sunset, and birth and death, ADORE will explore the artist's spirituality, encompassing autobiographical aspects and exploring the philosophical beliefs that underpin Fabian Miller's practice from romanticism to the pastoral.
Introducing a myriad of 'artists and makers, gardeners and Quakers, thinkers, and writers' ADORE also celebrates the notion of craft and making, placing Fabian Miller within a craft tradition, and revisiting ideas and practitioners - such as Ethel Mairet and Robin Tanner - included in Making Thinking Living (curated by Fabian Miller at the Craft Study Centre, 2016), by drawing links between the craftsmanship of the
darkroom and key 'pioneers of the craft revival' from the previous century. A domestically envisaged space will feature new tapestries and rugs created with Bristol Weaving Mill, alongside a rich array of pottery, printmaking, archive material and textiles.
ADORE then moves firmly into the light (and colour) exploring the dual concerns of light and time that run throughout Fabian Miller's practice, as his work moves out of the darkroom and into a new stage of development, organised around key works from the illuminative Colour Field series, including foundational works such as The Ark (2020).
Finally, the narrative winds its way back home, returning to the artist's habitat of Dartmoor - the place in which the artist has made his home and found endless inspiration - featuring a collaborative project with photographer Nicholas J R White, and revisiting just some of the places that have been the inspiration for earlier works in the exhibition.
ADORE will also stretch beyond the gallery walls, with a celebratory 'festival', encompassing the musicians, filmmakers, writers, poets, and collaborators who have contributed to Fabian Miller's extraordinary practice, culminating in a rich programme of live events and engagement activity, welcoming Arnolfini's communities to share the artist's affirmation of a 'life well lived'.
ADORE will be Garry Fabian Miller's third exhibition at Arnolfini, in his home city of Bristol, and will run from 18 February to 28 May 2023, Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm, admission is free. ADORE has been made possible through the generous donations of a Supporters Circle.
The exhibition is accompanied by a new publication ADORE from Arnolfini, featuring images of works in the show and beyond, exploring the many inspirational artists, makers, writers and thinkers that have influenced Garry Fabian Miller's lengthy career. ADORE contains images of Fabian Miller's alchemical darkroom and studio nestled in the Dartmoor landscape, including words from, Arnolfini Director Gary Topp, Fabian Miller and more, his intimate world is brought to life in this hand-held book. Designed by Hingston Studio, the book will be available for review in February 2023, and to purchase from the Arnolfini bookshop.
From 18 February to 10 September, the National Museum Cardiff hosts The Sea Horizon, an exhibition featuring 40 photographs by Garry Fabian Miller, all made between 1976 to 1977 from the rooftop of the artist's home in Clevedon, North Somerset. Overlooking the waters of the Severn Estuary towards Wales, the photographs were taken from the same place but at different times of day and under different weather conditions and were part of Fabian Miller's first solo exhibition at Arnolfini in 1979. More information can be found on their website, www.museum.wales/TheSeaHorizon
In January 2022, Garry Fabian Miller, was awarded an Honorary Fellowship with the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University. Garry's Fellowship came as part of the libraries' increasing commitment to enhancing both the study of photography at the University and public engagement with the field, especially where it relates to material practices. Garry took part in a lecture series in 2022 and authored an associated publication entitled Dark Room: A Memoir, featuring an essay by celebrated artist and writer Edmund de Waal, to be published in 2023. More details at www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/media/garry-fabian-miller
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