Miss Milliken's first solo exhibition Portrait, Interrupted: Recycling and Renewing the Personal ran from October to November 2017 in the Evelyn Peeler Peacock gallery on Historic Market Street in Corning, NY. Her artist statement read:
"Traditional methods of portrait painting often act as a barrier between myself and my subject. While my work does not ignore tradition, it interrupts traditional methods of portrait-painting in order to produce an original image/object. Each portrait involves deconstructing and repurposing the subject’s donated clothing to create the surface their portrait will be painted on. The surface of each portrait is unique, accentuating the subject’s personality rather than the artist’s. Throughout the process of destroying, recycling, and making, I examine how I relate to other people and how my work is influenced by my relationships. In addition, I analyze the relationship between myself and the subject, incorporate their personality into the materials I use, and dissect perceptions of myself and others."
A transcript of the artist talk she gave at the show's opening will soon be available at the ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.
Miss Milliken giving an artist talk at the opening for Portrait, Interrupted: Recycling and Renewing the Personal