After graduating from Art Center College of Design in 1990, Terry Miura headed out to
New York City to pay his dues. There he spent six years working as a freelance illustrator,
creating imagery for such clients as Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Random House, and
GRP Records, just to name a few.
In between illustration deadlines, Miura painted his beloved New York City, and began a career
as a painter by showing his work in neighborhood cafes, hair salons, juried shows. Before long
one of his cityscapes was noticed by a gallery owner, and he had his first ‘real’ show in 1995.
After returning to the West Coast in 1996, he established his studio in the Sacramento area, and
transitioned to becoming a full-time painter.
During this period, Miura turned his attention to the art of landscape painting, working directly
from nature to study the perception of visual reality, and how it might translate into individual
expression.
“I’m interested in understanding the language of landscape painting, so that I can use it to
explore the mysteries of emotions, memories, and identity.”
To that end, Miura does not limit himself to painting traditional landscapes. “I’m looking for
subtle emotional responses, “ he explains. “not just from trees and rivers, but buildings, people,
atmosphere, light… any subject can trigger an emotional response. I’m perpetually trying to
figure out what that trigger is.”
In recent years his pursuit has found expression in abstraction; “I start with the literal and the
logical, but then I let intuition take over. It’s always a precarious balance between a logical
representation of the visual world, and a visceral response to the abstract quality of the paint
itself. Too much logic and it remains predictable and boring. Too much abstraction and it
devolves into sloppy chaos. Poetry exists in the balance.”
Miura’s works are found in private and public collections, including pieces in the permanent
collection at the Crocker Art Museum, California Museum of Fine Art, and the Smithsonian
Institute.
http://www.terrymiura.com/
