PAFA's 113th Annual Student Exhibition

On May 9th I received my MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. As part of my graduate requirements I had to write a thesis and also hang a 21 foot long wall in the museum with a mini show or sampling of my current work. That display of work is part of this show:

113th Annual Student Exhibition

May 9 - June 1, 2014

Preview Party: May 8, 4 - 8:30 p.m.

Public Opening: May 9, 5 - 8 p.m.

The Annual Student Exhibition (ASE) has been a tradition for over a century and is the culminating event in PAFA’s artistic calendar. Each spring the graduating students of the Certificate, BFA and Master's programs mount an exhibition that fills the Museum exhibition galleries in the Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building. Over 11,000 visitors see more than a thousand works in all media. Sales at last year’s ASE grossed over $270,000. Graduating students compete for dozens of distinguished prizes and awards, including the illustrious Cresson Traveling Fellowship and the Caldwell Purchase Prize, in which a work by a graduating student is selected for purchase by the Museum and inclusion in PAFA’s permanent collection.

Click here to view an image gallery featuring a selection of works by students participating in this year’s exhibition.

Click here to view a sampling of my particular work in this exhibition.

On opening night we had to stand by our "walls" ready to discuss our work and greet patrons. Many friends and family members came by to show support. To view my informal photo album from that night click here.

PAFA, Broad and Cherry Streets, Philadelphia, PA, USA

The show is up through June 1, 2014. For museum hours and directions click here.

Odd April

I am happy to be included in this interesting Gallery 8 show at PAFA: Odd April. My piece is maybe not that odd, more like playfully different? It is from a very recent photo shoot with artist Anne Chase.

Witchy Anne, Nancy Bea Miller, March 2014, digital image

The show is in Gallery 8 (eighth floor lobby) in the Hamilton Building of PAFA (the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts) and runs April 8-28th, 2014. Many thanks to Alma Barrantes, the show curator. It's always extra exciting when a brand-new work gets chosen for notice!

Rosenfeld Gallery Show

I will have work in this exhibition: ART, ALIBI, AND AN ANONYMOUS WE
Curated by Treacy Ziegler

March 9-30, 2014, Opening Reception, March 9 12 to 5:30.p.m.
Talk: March 13, Thursday, 5:30p.m.
Rosenfeld Gallery, 113 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19106

This exhibition is the work of approximately 50 artists. Half of the participating artists exhibit their art in the free world. The other half of the exhibition’s participants consists of artists living in prisons; most who live in solitary confinement or on death row. If these artists get the opportunity to exhibit their work it is within the confines of “prisoner art.”

Each artist was asked to create a work of art within a 6” circle. Space restrictions of the 6” circle become the theme of the work. The presentation of all work is anonymous asking the viewer if this art or any art can be experienced without the story of the artist.

In the case of prison art, the viewer most often sees the art of the prisoner through the lens of rehabilitation instead of the lens of art.

Ultimately, art asks that the viewer forget the artist in order to experience the art as an aesthetic experience. Can this happen with prison art?

For more information on the exhibition visit An Open Window Project.
www.anopenwindowproject.org

Amber at the Philadelphia Flower Show!

"Amber, Dreaming" oil on canvas 24 x 20 inches

I am thrilled to announce that my painting "Amber, Dreaming" is on display at the Philadelphia Flower Show. The piece is part of a venture to showcase the work of local art school students in this year's flower show. This year's show theme is "ARTiculture" and I was very honored that the PFS committee chose my piece.  16 PAFA students were selected in all and our pieces will be rotated: Amber is in the current grouping dates to view Friday 2/28 through 3/3.

n.b. Because of some family issues which took me out of state, I was not able to get in to see it hanging in person! Many many thanks to Cara Schmidt who stumbled upon it at the show and was intrigued enough to read the label and then realize her friend had painted it...what a lucky happenstance! She snapped a shot and posted it too so I got to see it in situ...you're so great Cara ♡  And huge thanks also to my lovely model, Amber, for allowing me to paint her and then show the piece! ♡♡  Here's the show photo:

"Amber, Dreaming" oil on canvas 24 x 20 inches
The Philadelphia Flower Show 2014
photo courtesy of Cara Schmidt

Drexel Art Auction

"Dollar in a Box" NBMiller 2011 oil on linen 7 x 5 inches

I'm participating in Drexel University Arts Administration Graduate Association’s (AAGA) 11th Annual Silent Art Auction! This is tonight, Friday, Feb 28, 2014 at 7 p.m. in the URBN Center Lobby (3501 Market St.) In addition to food and drink, the evening will feature entertainment provided by Grits and Grouper Soup, a local Philadelphia folk-band. All proceeds support the AAGA’s annual trip to Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

For more information on the auction see this link. To see an online gallery of the many beautiful artworks donated to this event look here. Bids start at only a percentage of market value so if you're lucky this could be a great chance to snap up a masterpiece at "charity" prices.

"Faraway Places" at Newman Saunders Gallery

House on the Cliff   16 x 12  o/c  2010 NBMiller

Faraway Places
group show featuring the travel paintings of Valerie Whipple Craig, Elaine Moynihan Lisle, Nancy Bea Miller and Joseph Sweeney

12/8/13 thru 1/4/14
Opening Reception Sunday Dec 8, 4-7 pm
Newman Saunders Gallery
120 Bloomingdale Ave, Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087
http://www.newmansaundersgallery.com/

Two new magazine articles..part 2

I have two articles in the current issue of Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine! By chance, they are running back to back. The first is an exhibition preview which you can find in the previous post, and the second is a comprehensive guide to Philadelphia as an art destination.  Philadelphia: Art Mecca of the Mid-Atlantic Pages 103-107, Fine Art Connoisseur, October 2013.

Philadelphia is the U.S.A's eighth largest city and it is also well-known for its vibrant art scene, so this was a huge undertaking, but it was also a lot of fun doing the research. Many thanks to everyone who responded to my public and private cries for help requests for suggestions! I could not have done it without you. Many people responded to my Facebook queries and emails asking for information, and I am grateful to everyone. In particular I want to thank Margaret Hughes, Cara Schneider, Martha Kent Martin and Dr. Kevin Richards whose timely suggestions were immensely helpful.

NOTE: People's screen sizes and browser capabilities vary, so to read the pages it may be necessary to drag them to your desktop and then open them in Photoshop or Preview. Of course, the best way to read the article and see the full glory of the six spectacular color reproductions is to buy a copy of the magazine!