Gallery MAR is proud to introduce our newest represented artist, Miles Glynn, whose unique mixed-media works blend storytelling, nostalgia, and bold experimentation. This summer, join us for an exhibition hohonoring Glynn on July 25th from 6 to 9 pm.

Glynn’s path to becoming a professional artist was anything but conventional, making his work all the more compelling. “For most of my life I was not thinking or living in a creative way,” Glynn admits. His first career was in athletics, coaching soccer full-time for over a decade. Art had never been a focus, although photography was familiar to him through his father, an Army photojournalist. 

Everything changed when Glynn moved from the Midwest to Montana, where the vast landscapes, rich wildlife, and deep history inspired him to pick up a camera. “I started photographing a lot more and eventually started pushing the creative end of my photography…I felt compelled to go a creative route with it, it just felt right,” he explains. Having grown up around a photojournalist father, Glynn’s work is deeply narrative. “There’s a link between an image and a story and compelling someone based on the image to want to learn more… That definitely rubbed off on me,” he says. His first photographic series combined images of animals with antique wallpaper, an exploration of nostalgia and forgotten aesthetics. 

That journey led to a body of work that caught the attention of galleries, immersing Glynn in the art world and exposing him to mixed media. “It wasn’t long before I was completely taken by all of the amazing work being done in the mixed media realm…So, I pivoted pretty quickly and began learning silkscreen and combinations of silkscreen and paint and lots of different other mediums.”

Glynn can pinpoint the exact moment screen printing captivated him. While showcasing his photography at an art festival near San Francisco, he visited a large Andy Warhol retrospective. “I was blown away. There was just such an incredible range of work in themes and aesthetics and scale,” he recalls. “I remember leaving the museum that day and thinking, ‘That’s it. I have to learn silkscreen.’” Upon returning to Montana, he wasted no time, ordering a custom-made screen—“bigger than a door”—and diving into the process. “I learned everything on that big silkscreen,” he says. Over time, he refined his techniques, bending the silkscreen process to his vision, merging it with painting, collage, and other mixed-media elements.

As a self-taught artist, Glynn believes his unconventional background has shaped his artistic approach in distinct ways. “There’s absolutely something to be said for having a proper education and a foundation,” he acknowledges. “But for me, I think being self-taught allows me to view art in a fresh way.” Glynn describes how his lack of formal training enables him to approach each piece without the weight of artistic traditions. “I can just approach every single thing with clear eyes in that moment… without so many other factors and inputs influencing me.” Instead, he curates his own sources of inspiration, intentionally selecting the artists, music, and visual influences that resonate with him.

A fascination with Western iconography runs through Glynn’s work, stemming from childhood road trips across the American West. “I grew up seeing the West out a car window,” he recalls. But working within the Western genre presents a challenge: “The West has been presented a million times in a million different ways… but I think there’s still something fresh that can be said.’”

One of Glynn’s most striking elements is his use of neon lighting, a fascination rooted in childhood road trips past glowing motel signs. “I love the fact that it’s a technology that has barely changed in a hundred years,” he says. While he collaborates with a neon bender for fabrication, he directs the designs, sometimes incorporating salvaged neon from old signs. “It’s just another way to bring life to a piece and add a different dimension.”

Now Miles Glynn lives and works in the town in Marfa, Texas, still finding inspiration in the old Western landscape and culture. He’s excited to have his work shown in our Mountain West town of Park City.  “I love the history of Park City,” Glynn shares. “I love that it was a mining town, and when you know that, you can look around at the architecture and definitely pick up on that vibe, even as modern as it is today.” His appreciation for the town deepened after visiting the Park City Museum on Main Street, where he explored its mining relics and learned about its rich past. “It always seems like it just has a buzz to it, like you just never know what interesting people are walking down the street on any given day, and I love that about it.” 

Glynn is also thrilled to be working with Gallery MAR, a gallery he describes as a “top-notch organization” with an “absolutely fantastic” artist roster. “It’s a pleasure and an honor for me to be able to show with the existing artists that are there, and also accepting the challenge of trying to present something new and fresh in my own way to add value to what the gallery does with their engagement and their relationships with their clients.”

We at Gallery MAR are thrilled to showcase Miles Glynn’s dynamic work, which breathes new life into historical aesthetics and Western iconography. His fearless experimentation and narrative depth make him a perfect fit for our roster of artists. We invite you to visit the gallery to experience Glynn’s work in person and discover the stories woven into his mixed-media masterpieces.

 

---

Written and interviewed by Veronica Vale

Tags: Miles Glynn, Miles Glynn Art, Mixed Media Art, mixed media artist, Neon Art, Texas Artist, Western Art, Westernish
Posted in Gallery News