Greater Miami’s longest-established Contemporary Fine Art gallery, ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries has presented more than 300 monthly or bi-monthly exhibitions over the past 43 years, and participates in such expositions as ArtMiami, Art Palm Beach, and ArteAméricas.
Historically significant Modern masters introduced to South Florida by the gallery include Alice Neel, one of the nation’s leading portraitists; Richard Pousette-Dart, youngest member of the New York School of Abstract Expressionists; Rover Thomas, one of the two Aborigine artists to represent Australia at the 1990 Venice Biennial; Ramón Oviedo, master artist of the Dominican Republic; and Gunther Gerzso, Mexico’s premiere abstract painter.
Since the gallery’s inception in 1974, its exhibitions have included a history of photography, with 136 images dating to the invention of the photographic negative; a major show of sculpture and paintings by Karel Appel; the installation of grass growing in the shape of Ana Mendieta’s body; and Eric Staller’s ""Lightmobile,"" a VW Beetle studded with 1,659 tiny light bulbs flashing in computer-generated patterns.
The gallery made international history in December 1990, when digital cameras developed for the Gulf War were used to photograph visitors as they entered the gallery, and Canon’s first large toner printer output manipulated color prints of their images within a few minutes.
In December 1988, ArtNews magazine ran a full-page testimonial titled Quality Miller honoring the gallery’s outstanding exhibitions.
The common denominator of all the works exhibited at ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries is the ""spirit"" or artistic integrity, a highly accomplished technique, and excellent value. An art advisor for five years before opening her gallery, Virginia Miller strongly believes that a dealer in Contemporary Art has a crucial responsibility to help people learn how to look at art, to feel what it’s about, and not to be intimidated by new art forms. Although many of the acquisitions from her gallery have appreciated substantially in value, she always encourages her clients to consider art not only as a financial investment, but as an investment in their quality of life.
In addition to presenting major exhibitions and consulting with private and corporate clients, other services offered by the gallery include searching for works of art on behalf of clients, brokering important 19th- and 20th-century paintings and sculpture, and assisting clients who wish to sell or buy art at auction. The gallery offers informal evaluations of works of art; obtains appropriate authentication; and arranges and supervises expert appraisals, conservation, framing, installation, crating, and shipping to both domestic and international destinations. Virginia Miller also is experienced in commissioning monumental public sculpture and authored an article on the subject for Collector Investor magazine.
