Harland Miller (b. 1964) is a British artist and writer renowned for his distinctive fusion of text and image, most notably through his large-scale paintings that reimagine vintage Penguin book covers. Born in Yorkshire, England, Miller attended the Chelsea College of Art in London, where he completed both his BA and MA degrees by 1988. Following his studies, he spent formative years living and working in New York, Berlin and Paris.
Miller's literary inclinations are evident in his early career as a novelist. In 2000, he published his debut novel, Slow Down Arthur, Stick to Thirty, a narrative set in 1980s Yorkshire that follows a young protagonist's journey alongside a David Bowie impersonator. That same year, he released At First I Was Afraid, I Was Petrified, a novella exploring obsessive-compulsive disorder, inspired by a collection of Polaroid photographs depicting oven knobs turned to the ‘off’ position.
Transitioning from literature to visual art, Miller gained prominence with his Penguin Book Covers series, initiated in the early 2000s. These works feature satirical and often melancholic titles, such as ‘Death: What’s in It for Me?’ and ‘York, So Good They Named It Once’, rendered in the classic Penguin paperback design. By appropriating this familiar format, Miller blurs the boundaries between high art and popular culture, inviting viewers to reflect on themes of identity, nostalgia and societal norms.
Beyond the Penguin series, Miller's oeuvre includes the Letter Paintings, where he isolates single words or acronyms like ‘LUV’ and ‘ACE’, drawing inspiration from illuminated manuscripts and modern typography. His Hell series juxtaposes bold textual declarations with vibrant colour fields, exploring existential themes with characteristic wit. Miller's stylistic influences encompass Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art, with nods to artists such as Mark Rothko, Ed Ruscha and Robert Rauschenberg.
Miller's work has been exhibited internationally, including solo shows at White Cube galleries in London, Paris and Hong Kong. In 2020, the York Art Gallery hosted Harland Miller: York, So Good They Named It Once, a retrospective that underscored the artist's connection to his Yorkshire roots.
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Murder - We've All Done It
Harland Miller (b. 1964)
Death, What’s in it for Me?
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
International Lonely Guy
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Who Cares Wins
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
International Lonely Gal - Mon Histoire
Harland Miller (b. 1964)
Grimsby
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Plan B
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Murder - We've All Done It
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Murder - We've All Done it
Harland Miller (b. 1964)
This is Where its Fuckin At - Least it Used To Be
Harland Miller (b. 1964)
Whitby - The Self Catering Years Vol. II
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Narcissist Seeks Similar
Harland Miller (b. 1964)
You Can Rely On Me. I'll Always Let You Down
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Don’t Let The Bastards Cheer You Up
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Blonde But Not Forgotten
Harland Miller (b. 1964)
You Are No Longer A Part of My Life by Medical Opinion
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
RAGS TO POLYESTER - MY STORY
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
This Is Where It's Fucking At
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Who Cares Wins
Harland Miller (b. 1964)
I'm So Fucking Hard--Ernest Hemingway
HARLAND MILLER (B.1964)
Death, What’s in it for Me?
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
The Me I Never Knew
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Don't Let the Bastards Cheer You Up
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Thought After Filthy Thought
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Narcissist Seeks Similar (small)
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Hell... It's Only Forever 1 (large)
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Don't Let the Bastards Cheer You Up
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
LUV (large format)
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Ignore All Alien Orders
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
WHATS ALL THE HUBBUB - BUB
Harland Miller (b. 1964)
Bridlington - Ninety Million Miles From the Sun
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Happiness: The Case Against (large)
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Too Cool To Lose
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Incurable Romantic Seeks Dirty Filthy Whore
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Happiness: The Case Against
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Hell…It's Only Forever 1
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Incurable Romantic Seeks Dirty Filthy Whore
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Gateshead Revisited
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Heroin, It’s What Your Right Arm’s For
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Hell...It's Only Forever 1
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
If Your Past Were on Fire Would You Go Back to Save it
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Tonight We Make History
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Narcissist Seeks Similar (small)
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
Fuck Art, Let's Dance and Fuck Dancing, Let's Fuck (Diptych)
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
In Shadows I Boogie (Pink)
HARLAND MILLER (B. 1964)
In Shadows I Boogie (Blue)