Serena Mitnik Miller "Canyon"

C A N Y O N is a solo show of new works by San Francisco and Los Angeles-based painter and designer, Serena Mitnik-Miller. Through organic abstraction and pattern-based work, Miller’s subtle use of color and movement creates a subconscious interpretation of the ocean, nature and California coastline aesthetic. C A N Y O N will see the artist return to San Francisco with a series of watercolor on paper paintings, each painstakingly conceived with multiple layers of color and gestures on each work. The artist notes that the colors used in this particular exhibition are inspired by Topanga Canyon, the region where the artist resides in Southern California. The exhibition will open on June 1st 2018, and run through July 6th, 2018 at Chandran Gallery in San Francisco. 

Mitnik-MIller starts each work by laying out each piece in pencil. This procedure creates a practice
where no two piece is alike. The layout of each work, although organized by a grid, becomes an
naturally flowing process for the artist, where each piece takes a new path. Mitnik-Miller uses
color as the second layer of the process, again, creating what she calls a “very organic” method
to each work. “The shapes and patterns of these pieces represent and exploitation in the
variations of pattern that can be created,” Mitnik-Miller says, “With curves and corners, and a
combination of the two. I find the process of creating with a somewhat controlled process and a
loose medium of watercolor produces results that compel me to do it again.” The imperfections
of the medium, the uncontrollable nature of watercolor on paper, allows for new ways of viewing
each work. They create repetitions but truly unique experiences when seen as a whole in a gallery
setting, but individually become subtle reminders of the artist’s hand on each work.

Serena Mitnik-Miller is an artist and designer working in California. She splits her time between
San Francisco and Los Angeles, combining her days painting, designing, collecting, and
collaborating with her local artisan community. Serena’s paintings are created by hand using
watercolor pigment on paper. The compositions are fashioned by interconnecting patterns of
color and concentric shapes where structures break apart, bubbles stack, and pyramids multiply.
Each painting must strike a balance between layers of color, repetitive contour lines, and the inherent qualities of all the materials she employs. Her artwork usually begins with an impression
from the natural environment, where proximity to the ocean and coastal
habitats, often become symbolic permanent points of reference.