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InspirationArt & Culture

Bold, pop art paintings fuse elements of Hockney and Wesselmann to express youth

When looking at the work of artist Ian Thomas Miller, it's hard to believe that he's only 22 years old. Based in Chicago, Miller's bold paintings and illustrations have earned him a wealth of online attention in the last few months, and when looking at this particular body of work it's easy to see why.

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Collage-style painting by Ian Thomas Miller featuring a figure blowing a pink bubble, a potted plant, and a person wearing a graphic black and white t-shirt against split colour-block backgrounds

Using a collage effect, and bold colour-blocking, Miller layers multiple objects to create individual stories for each painting. Whether that be teenage boys hanging around doing nothing much at all, or girls blowing strands of pink bubblegum. The subject's faces are almost always obscured, which allows the viewer to apply elements of their own memories of lazy summer days to the scenes.

Hands tend to play a central role in the paintings, alongside predominant pop cultural references from the sixties and eighties. Some works display a nod to Hockney's A Bigger Splash, whilst others incorporate 'still life', favoured by artists operating under the pop artist movement.

This year is set to be particularly busy for Miller, who is currently working on a new series of work. There's also talk of a book in the near future, so watch this space. We're excited to see what comes next.

To see more from Miller, visit his website.

Via The Creators Project

A hand holds a cigarette above a blue rectangle, with pink flamingo sculptures and a pool ladder against a pink background in a pop art composition by Ian Thomas Miller
Collage-style artwork featuring a hand making a peace sign, purple flowers in a vase, and geometric shapes in pink, red and black against a teal background
Two hands stacked together in front of an illustration featuring a face in profile with bold pink and blue brushstrokes and small floating objects
Collage-style painting featuring a raised hand, blue swimming pool, pink fabric, crumpled plastic bag and line-drawn box against a black background
Hands with pink nail polish rest on a black marble-textured rectangular object against a bright yellow background
Person in blue jeans and white shirt sitting beneath a pink skateboard with yellow wheels against a dark blue background, with gestural white markings above
Large pink circle with black ink sketches of hands and a rocket above it on a light background
Collage artwork featuring hands and objects against bright blocks of colour, including a grey pencil sketch of a torso, pink and blue geometric shapes, and bold red brushstrokes
Portrait with obscured face layered with tropical foliage and bright blue curved shape against marble background in pop art style
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