‘Tra L’Occhio e L’Ombra’: Sam Orlando Miller gets illusory at Gallery Fumi

Gallery Fumi celebrates British designer Sam Orlando Miller with an exhibition of new works at its Hoxton Square space. Titled ‘Tra L’Occhio e L’Ombra’ (an Italian title meaning ’between the eye and the shadow’), this is the first solo show for the sculptor, better known for his graphic mirrors. 

The exhibition presents two new collections, Sguardo Cubetti and Nostalgia Futuro, each exploring Miller’s visual language and expanding his aesthetic research. The designer once again worked with mirrored surfaces and geometric shapes to create the two series of objects, offering a new layer to his work.

The Sguardo Cubetti series includes six pieces shaped as trompe l’oeil grids. The large three-dimensional sculptures combine different mirror colours (obsidian grey, amber, midnight blue) with painted panels. ‘A box with a door,’ Miller calls each piece; the series is based on simple geometric illusions, made precious by the brilliant colour treatments.

Notalgia Futuro, meanwhile, comprises four wall-hanging pieces that merge mirrored surfaces with studio interior scenes painted onto patinated panels. Yet another illusion, the pieces are non-mirrors that ‘transform the hard reality into a world of softness and ambiguity’, says the designer.

Ombra e Riflesso completes the show’s rich composition; it’s a small sculpture featuring two owl figurines, offering a novel organic approach to his work. Made of marble quartz, green mirror and oak, the pair is expressive and puzzling, inspired by Miller’s close encounter with an owl.

‘Opening a box always offers the chance of the unexpected,’ says Miller. ‘A small thrill of anticipation irrespective of what the box might or might not contain. This work is about that moment; between the visible and the invisible, inside and outside, reality and illusion.’