Vintage Linoleum Assemblage

Bill Miller is an artist who has been using vintage linoleum flooring as his medium for almost 20 years. Linoleum was the ultimate interior medium, present in all aspects of 20th century life from Grandma’s kitchen to the corner drug store and neighborhood school. Miller’s innovative work is recognized for pictorial assemblages that rely only on the flooring’s found surface, with no added paint, to render his subjects. His unexpected use of familiar patterns taps into the medium’s nostalgic qualities, imparting a sense of personal history and rediscovery within each piece. Miller’s work has long been shaped by the tragic impact of industrialization. Both his parents were from West Virginia coal mining families. His grandfather was killed in the mines when Miller was a child. His parents raised Bill and his sister in the industrial center of Cleveland OH, where his father too lost his life in an auto factory when Miller was a teen. Miller moved to Pittsburgh as a young adult just as the steel industry collapsed, decimating long time communities and creating a rust belt of crumbling towns and massive structures. Miller’s work has been widely exhibited including solo shows in NYC, LA, Philadelphia, Seattle, New Orleans, Austin, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Baltimore and Woodstock, NY.