Happenings

Miles in the Sky

Book Release

Gallery Exhibition

Dates:

June 21 through August 9, 2007

Opening Reception:

Thursday, June 21, 2007, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Location:

3245 16th Street, San Francisco CA 94103

Creativity Explored presents a solo exhibition of one of our most respected artists, James Miles. A book of Miles’ work, “James F. Miles is a Boyfriend And A Girlfriend”, will be released in conjunction with the exhibition.

Gallery Exhibition

Miles’ work has always attracted the interest of other contemporary artists and serious art collectors. Working primarily with pen and ink, Miles creates mostly miniature, exceptionally skillful line drawings that communicate nuances and details in an almost uncannily simple way. Even a tiny figure a quarter inch high seems to exude a distinct personality. “His draftsmanship is extraordinary,” says one of the show’s curators Horace Washington who has worked with Miles, a man with autism, for more than 15 years at Creativity Explored. “And he has an incredible memory. He can draw the dashboard of his father’s car to the last detail in less than 15 minutes. It’s almost effortless.”

Miles’ ability to remember detail is evident in the maps he creates of his neighborhood. In them, a maze of shops, homes, light poles, telephone wires and street signs are laid out in three perspectives at once so that they are viewed from above, below and straight on. These multiple perspectives on city landscapes are a trademark of his work and derive, according to his sister Marilyn, from Miles’ childhood fascination with the book “This is San Francisco” by Miroslav Sasek. “He’s been a natural artist all his life,” she says. “But I think he really absorbed a lot of information about perspective from that book.”

Book Release

In conjunction with the exhibition, San Francisco’s esteemed
Gallery 16 is releasing a book of Miles’ work titled “James F. Miles Is A Boyfriend And A Girlfriend”. Created by well-known contemporary artist Harrell Fletcher, this exquisite hardbound book will be for sale at the Miles in the Sky opening reception.

Fletcher says Miles’ work “stood out from the moment I saw it, and has been compelling to me ever since. James’ drawings are both very everyday and incredibly mysterious at the same time. He is operating on another level from anyone else I’ve ever encountered — almost as if he is physically in this universe but perceiving several others that are undetectable to other people. The results are poignant, funny, disturbing, and generally stunning.”

We think you’ll agree.

Related News Entries:

• “James F. Miles Is A Boyfriend And A Girlfriend” Book Release June 8, 2007

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