Apryl Miller

Daughter of a minister, Apryl Miller was born in Chicago and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. She credits her art career to being raised in a large, creative, DIY family, as her works reflect the tradition she was taught as a child: that by making something yourself you make it your own. Describing herself as an “accidental artist,” she also believes that everything that has happened as she has lived her life has contributed to her ultimate artistic expression. Miller studied fashion design at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and received her AA degree in 1990.

A lifelong poet, she came to visual art later in life, and without having had formal art training, knew she needed to make a “nest” for her family, so transformed her New York City apartment into an art environment in which to raise her young daughters. However, as she comments, “I, too, have lived in this space all these years and it has fed each of us, in ways that none of us could have imagined.”

Most of the apartment’s furnishings were conceived and custom made for each specific space. It is wildly bright and colorful, with an emphasis on asymmetry and dimensionality, even where such adornment might not be immediately visible, such as inside closets and medicine cabinets. Miller has applied over 150 different paint colors on the walls and floors, along with tiles and smaller dimensional objects, yet has shied away from thematic areas – with the exception of one bathroom that has a fish theme. Each door, drawer, and cabinet features unmatched knobs and pulls; some have up to seven pulls each, all very elaborate.

“The materials and techniques I use are a vestige of my training in fashion and jewelry design-vintage fabric and trims, plastics, patches and found objects,” she has written. “I like to juxtapose patterns, textures, shapes, materials and colors. By mixing together that which does not belong, a peace is established…that is both energizing and calming.”

In addition to obsessively adorning her apartment, Miller has riffed off of those same energies “that first tumbled out in the house” in the creation of distinct artworks; among these are her “sculpture masquerading as furniture,” which include upholstered chairs, chaises, and sofas, as well as more hard-edge pieces such as side tables and shelves. Miller also creates installations, paints, and makes jewelry.

Miller’s apartment is not open to the public, but she will speak about her work to groups or in salons at the house. Email her at apryl@aprylmiller.com to learn more.

~Jo Farb Hernández, 2015

Jo Farb Hernández

New York, New York, 10021 us
Latitude/Longitude: 40.7700703 / -73.9580246

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