Tom Miller was a homegrown artist from Baltimore. It was here where Miller began rescuing old furniture and other items dumped in the alleys.
“He's most famous for painted furniture,” says Derek Price, executive director, Eubie Blake Cultural Center. “I believe part of his thinking was kind of restoring this old, discarded furniture into something useful and beautiful.”
Twenty-five years after Miller's death, several of his works are on display here at the Eubie Blake Cultural Center in Midtown. The exhibit is called 'Out of the Woodwork! Bringing Tom Miller's Legacy to Light.'
“All this work has come from private collections, personal collections, from Baltimore,” Price says. “Hence the name 'Out of the Woodwork.'. We put the call out, and we were flooded with people who collected his work.”
Miller was a multimedia artist whose style was coined 'Afro-Deco' by a colleague. The vibrant colors and characters are a hallmark of Miller's handiwork.
“Included in his work many times, social justice issues, issues of racism, issues of stereotypical things,” Price says. “For example, big lips or big eyes.” There's one notable exception, this piece. Miller died before he finished it.
“It was ultimately going to be a glass, like a side table with a glass top,” Price says. “See? This doesn't have any of his typical painting, paint, or any of that stuff. So, this was a work in progress.”
Fittingly, a reprint of Miller's memorial service is framed above it. It was held at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Miller was the first Black Baltimorean to have a solo exhibit there.
“The possibilities, because I’m from the same area,” Price says. “I mean, he was maybe 10-15 years older than I, but it's the possibilities of coming from Sandtown Winchester or any area in Baltimore to influence changes in the art world.”
And now you, too, can have one of Miller's pieces in your home. This one, 'Justice is not Blind,' a screenprint Miller did in 1995, is up for auction. Funds raised will help continue to celebrate his legacy and preserve his work. To bid, go here.
'Out of the Woodwork' runs through April 19, and it's free to the public.
