Garry Fabian Miller
ADORE
The Arnolfini Gallery
16 Narrow Quay
Bristol BS1 4QA
18 February - 28 May 2023
Tues - Sun, 11am - 6pm
Free admission
Garry Fabian Miller, one of the most inventive and original photographers of his time, makes a very welcome return to Arnolfini (ADORE is Garry Fabian Miller’s third, major exhibition at Arnolfini, his earlier shows being in 1979 and 1997), and his home city of Bristol, to present ADORE, a major exhibition celebrating a lifetime of his work.
ADORE invites you to explore Fabian Miller’s ‘camera-less’ practice that experiments with darkness and light, and weaves in work by the artists, writers and thinkers that have inspired him over the years.
Arranged around different elements, ADORE reveals an artist of incredible 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 to 1977) – 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 adorn his garden and stretch out into the surrounding hedgerows.
Introducing a myriad of ‘artists and makers, gardeners and Quakers, thinkers, and writers’ ADORE welcomes you into a homely space of new tapestries and rugs created with Dovecot, Edinburgh and Bristol Weaving Mill, alongside a rich array of pottery, printmaking, archive material and textiles.
ADORE then moves into themes of light (and colour) that run throughout Fabian Miller’s practice, as his work moves out of the darkroom to discover a new stage of his imagery development process.
Finally, the narrative winds its way back to 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 some of the places that have been the inspiration for earlier works in the exhibition.
ADORE will also stretch beyond the galleries, with a celebratory ‘festival’ of 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’.
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, with words from Arnolfini Director Gary Topp, Fabian Miller and more.
For more information, please visit the Arnolfini website below.
