Accessible Expressions Ohio has gone digital this year and you can check it out on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Megan, our maven of all things programs e-interviewed one of this year’s exhibition judges, longtime Art Possible Ohio artist and friend, Cody Miller.
Miller’s work has been shown in numerous exhibits, such as “Havana/ConnectArt” in Matanzas, Cuba, “The Best of 2019” at the Ohio Craft Museum and the Springfield Museum, Solo Exhibition, “Sojourners,” at the Hayley Gallery in New Albany, Ohio, “In Close Proximity” at the Cultural Arts Center, “From the Familiar to the Unfamiliar” at the Ohio Art League, “Glory Be” at the Johnson Humrickhouse Museum and “Annual Acquisitions” at the Viewpoint Gallery in Schenectady, New York. He is represented by the Hudson Gallery in Sylvania, Ohio.
Miller received an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award in 2002 and 2018, the Collector’s Award for Excellence at the Ohio Craft Museum’s “The Best of 2019,” Juror’s Choice 2D Award at the 2018 Columbus Arts Festival, Best of Show in 2001 and 2012 at the Westerville Arts Festival.
Cody was the art instructor at United Cerebral Palsy for 16 years and is currently a resident artist at the Goodwill Art Studio.
Who are you/what do you do?
I am a mixed media artist who resides in Columbus, Ohio. I work with magazine collage, acrylic paint, and charcoal. The patterns and odd configurations I stumble upon are an integral part of conveying the endless layers of humanity – an old 1885 second grade reader or letters from a father to his son during World War II that I collect and store for the next piece. The Scriptures, the writings of Thomas Merton and the music of Tom Waits are all important influences in my work. They are ingredients in creating, as Ben Myers says, a “horizon of this dark world where we glimpse the startling first glow of dawn, the surprising appearance of grace ‘out of the depths’ (Psalm 130:1).” I use metaphors, analogies, and other related devices to convey beauty that often comes disguised as a loss, failure, or unwelcome change.
What is your connection with Art Possible Ohio/Why did you agree to adjudicate this year’s exhibition?
I’ve been connected to Art Possible Ohio/VSA for 25 years. The organization has been an amazing resource for the artists I have worked with over the years. The AEO exhibition has been a major launching pad for the careers of numerous individuals. The organization has also been instrumental in serving as a liaison between The Ohio Arts Council’s ADAP grants and the artists’ that grant serves. All of this, and much more, is done with a kindness and patience that I think sometimes gets overlooked.
What did you take away from the adjudication process?
How we the judges, came to very different conclusions on the art that was chosen.
What is keeping you busy during this time of quarantine?
I recently finished a commission, and started a new one, with a third one possibly around the corner. The studio where I teach, The Goodwill Art Studio is currently closed, so during that time I’m working in supported living three days a week.
I’m enjoying more walks with my wife and even more opportunities to get slaughtered by her when we play Scrabble.
I still volunteer at one of our churches food pantries on Saturday, the need is greater than ever.
Share a picture of yourself or a project you are working on!
The image below is a recent commission I finished entitled “A Box of Darkness into light III”
The image is based off Psalm 18:28 and a poem from Mary Oliver “Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness, It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.”
