Reflecting on reflections, with artist Sam Orlando Miller

Sam Orlando Miller is an artist whose work moves freely between the functional and poetic, between art and design, between the physical and emotional.

Intrinsically reflective in both nature and material, Sam Orlando Miller makes work that blurs boundaries between reality and illusion that turns an emotionally charged response to materials into works that, while illusive, have an energy that carries their own language.

The G.A London office acquired two beautiful pieces by Sam Orlando Miller, they sit as proud focal points in the G.A boardroom. These mirrored works allow reflections to activate the space they rest in, while the space itself activates the reflective surfaces of the piece.

Curiosity Bites interviews Sam Orlando Miller to dig a little deeper into his process and past.

Just as spoken language is based on fundamental letters, sounds and grammar, visual art is based on elements and principles that, when used together, create works that communicate ideas and meaning to the viewer. How has your own visual language developed?

I have become increasingly interested in how we use the physical world as a reflector of what we are thinking, using all the different languages that we have;  visual, spoken, written, sensory, instinctive, to validate what our identity might be.  By creating newness in the languages we use, our communal identities are constantly shifting.

You grew up around your father’s silversmith workshop, how has this exposure to traditional craftsmanship influenced your work?

Growing up in a trade environment in London was commonplace when I was young. All trades were equal in their sense of identity and unselfconsciousness. It was almost the opposite of what we now have, it was not better, not worse. Having a perspective on both worlds influences how I think.

Art vs. Design is a timeless debate, can you speak a little about the dialogue between Art and Design in your own work?

Art has to be designed and design requires artifice. Creative people can put more emphasis on one or the other. For me the two are equal.

You have said “The skill of working with silver is the understanding of reflection. When you make an object in silver you need to know how it captures the world around it.” Working with reflective materials allows for an interesting conversation between the artwork and the space, are the spaces in which your work is shown or displayed important to you?

If I have any creative influence over the destination space for a certain work, I am very involved in it’s creation. But ultimately works must absolutely hold their own.

What are you currently taking inspiration from?

How the birds around my studio and home create pathways. And I have been looking at how people working on quantum computing are creating their own new words and visual references to define their technology.

If you weren’t an artist, what would you be?

Perhaps, this week, I would be a swallow heading to my other home.

For more of Sam Orlando Miller’s work:

www.samorlandomiller.com