Originally from North East England, Neil Miller emigrated to New Zealand in his early teens. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, in 1988. He later gained a Diploma in Arts Administration in 1996.

Miller defines himself as a painter who works in metals. At art school he enrolled for painting but he always felt drawn to the sculpture department.

Miller has avoided the engineering of massive works and most of his work has created at human scale or smaller. He finds metal to be a balanced, direct and relatively quick medium to work in. Much of his sculpture emulates the forms of nature: vine, leaf, shell, seed, pod, twig and shoot. Purposely avoiding any floral excesses, the shapes of each of Miller’s works become more important than their decoration. Influenced by Gonzalez and David Smith, Miller’s works often explore concepts of duality. Positive forms are matched with negative ones; curves with straight lines; weight with lightness; and movement with stasis.

Miller has been exhibiting in solo exhibitions since 1988 and has also been included in several group exhibitions in Auckland, Wellington and Waitakere City. His work is represented in several private collections throughout New Zealand and he has been commissioned to create works for public spaces such as the New Lynn Community Centre in Auckland.