On Sept. 10, 2022, Liberty Science Center received a special visit from Montana-based artist Ben Miller!

LSC was the first stop for Ben Miller’s four-day residency in Jersey City. This residency will allow for Miller to create and exhibit work in response to the ecological terrain that inspires him throughout Jersey City’s natural habitats.

Check out some photos from Miller’s stop at LSC:

Ben Miller is a highly recognized painter best known for his Endangered Rivers series. Six years ago, Miller began his Endangered Rivers series out of his deep passion for raising the awareness and importance of river preservation. The Endangered Rivers paintings, like the rivers themselves, are complex layers of color and transparency. Each work is created in reverse, with marks made on the back of a plexiglass panel. When turned around, the first strikes of paint represent surface reflections and whitewater rills. These highlights are then backed by successive color layers of deeper and darker forms. While his preparation is calculated, the execution must be spontaneous. He must first find the right spot, then read the river and the day. Miller’s stated goal for these works is to mark down the truth of a river, not his interpretation of it.

Miller received a BFA in art from WSU in Seattle and spent 12 years teaching art before moving to Bozeman, Montana in 2016. Miller is the subject of a recent documentary short film by Manabu Inada, titled The Rhythms of the River, which can be seen on his website, www.benmillerartist.com. Earlier this year, Miller was a featured artist in the “Profile” section of Expo Chicago. In Chicago, Miller painted the Chicago River to support the Friends of the Chicago River, and was featured on network television.

Ben Miller