Andrew Miller

Focusing on the reused, the jettisoned and the redundant, Andrew Miller’s new exhibition at the Ingleby Gallery attempts to redefine notions of worth, use and place. Unfortunately, his point is trapped inside the claustrophobic walls of the small side room of the gallery.

Compared to the gallery’s curation of Alison Watt’s exhibition, the Ingleby’s conception and placement of Miller’s work is lacking. His signature lantern shade pole, creative and fun, looks stuffy and sanitised against the austere white walls of the gallery. Yet when situated within the large, open plan and ornate interior of the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, the work appears luminous, quirky and the larger scale boosts his idea of reuse and the conflict between form and function. Thus, discounting the negatives, as you walk around the space, the relationship between the reused works and its surrounding environment is a clear point of interest for Miller.

Miller’s concern for texture and the tangibility of objects is presented well within the diverse range of materials in the exhibition. Aluminium is combined with electric shapes, laminate with timber, with these groupings forcing the viewer to question our notions of traditional placement. Alongside the small Miller exhibition the Ingleby Gallery showcases the work of Roger Ackling and the two artists lend well to each other, thus reinforcing the challenge to accepted norms of painting and sculpture that Miller seeks to come to grips with.

In sum, there is more depth to Miller’s work that meets the eye at the Ingleby Gallery. His concern for the place of objects within its environment speaks loud and clear, yet at the Ingleby Gallery this forms something of a catch-22: all the good in his work is checked by the need for space and context that the gallery simply can’t provide.