Hillary Miles was born and raised in the same Maryland county where Jim Henson grew up. She watches a lot of sci-fi and fantasy movies, has spent her fair share of time at Renaissance Festivals, and gothed out for a bit as a kid. Hillary received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2013.
Artist Statement
Engaging the symbolic structure of myths and fairytales, Hillary creates a cast of iconic characters and creatures that embody the playfulness of cartoons and the depth of archetypes. The illustrative, graphic style, and quirky narrative nature of these strange little paintings and sculptures help bring a little levity and a lot of humor to the psychologically rich scenarios they give form to. Inspired by the creative legacy of children’s book illustrators, and fantasy filmmakers, and heavily driven by imagination, these objects originate as doodles, and are then translated into gouache, ceramics, resin, or polymer clay. Hillary is inclined toward milky, matte pigments and glazes, jewel and candy-toned hues, and the intimate scale of collectible tchotchkes and totems.