The Hancock Town Library gallery presents “The Art of Things Found,” works by Hancock resident R. Kipp Miller, which will run through June.
The opening reception is Saturday, May 30, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Hancock Library.
Miller, a longtime Hancock resident who exhibits his work around the country, says he has been interested in creating art from “found objects” since he was a child.
“I come from a family of artists. My mother was a painter and sculptor, my grandmother was a painter, my dad was a sculptor — but I took kind of a different route. I started finding things at a young age and turning them into art, from discarded wood and glass to all kinds of bric-a-brac, iron — any kind of object,” Miller said.
Miller, who lives in an old farmhouse in Hancock with his wife, is also a freelance writer and a published poet.
“I just finished my first murder mystery. I never retired; I am busy as ever,” he said.
Miller looks for unusual aspects of familiar objects, showing them in a different light.
“I take the objects and enhance them, or keep them as they are, to make them unusual,” he said. “Color is incredibly important to me, or there is an interesting shape. Anything I find that just speaks to me, that seems like it has a story to tell — those are the objects I tend to collect.”
Miller enjoys working with objects from all eras.
“A lot of things I find are quite old, but not always. Some of the things I have in the display are made from old turntables, from iron from railroads, from wire. I use a lot of discarded bottle caps from back alleys, and I will have some of those on display,” he said.
Living in New Hampshire, Miller also finds objects particular to the New England landscape.
“I love the old wood wedges that the foresters take out of the trees when they’re done cutting. I have rescued those for years and years. Some I paint, some I photograph, some I use in 3D form,” he said.
Miller also paints or photographs his found objects, sometimes collaborating with one of his sons, who is a professional fashion photographer in New York City. He exhibits his work at Art Basel in Miami each year and sometimes participates in New York Art Week. He also takes part in the Monadnock Art Tour each year, partnering with Stephanie Wells at her studio in West Peterborough.
All pieces in “The Art of Things Found” are for sale, with 20% of proceeds benefiting to the Hancock Library.
For more information about Miller or to see examples of his work, go to rkippmiller.art.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct Stephanie Wells’ name.