The “Edgar Miller: Anti-Modern, 1917-1967” exhibition officially opened its doors at the DePaul Art Museum (DPAM) a little over five months ago. To celebrate those involved with maintaining Miller’s legacy, DPAM hosted a panel discussing graphic design in relation to the exhibition on Jan. 16, 2025. 

“At DePaul Art Museum we see our mission as connecting people through art and ideas,” said Laura-Caroline De Lara, director of DePaul Art Museum. “It’s that people component that’s at the core of what we do. This includes being able to connect DePaul students, faculty and staff with artists, thinkers, practitioners from across Chicago, across the nation and often internationally.” 

The panel was moderated by curator Marin R. Sullivan and included presentations from Tobey Albright and Mollie Edgar of HOUR Studio as well as Clare Byrne of Sunroom. 

HOUR specializes in designing print, web or environments for a variety of artists, architects, designers and cultural centers. In addition to organizing the exhibitions of “Edgar Miller: Anti-Modern, 1917-1967” and its companion show “The Spaces We Call Home,” HOUR also designed the accompanying catalog of Miller’s work. 

At the panel Albright and Edgar discussed the inspiration they drew from Miller’s home, Glasner Studio, that helped create the exhibition’s accompanying publication. Albright referred to Glasner Studio as a place with intense detail that held many, “moments inside of moments.” 

“Every turn you make, every passage, every surface has some sort of treatment that has been done by hand,” Albright said. “There’s a lot of really beautiful patterns that happen.  One of our approaches when trying to work with Edgar Miller was to identify those patterns and reapply, translate and extend them the books’ design.”  

Edgar said she was taken by the wide scope of Miller’s work — commercial, design, carving, engraving, painting, plaster, sculpture and much more. 

Edgar referred to the design influence of Miller’s work as “dense.”  It was a challenge for HOUR Studio to encapsulate everything and it seemed important to show the density of all that they encountered. 

“(Miller) seemed to master almost every one of these crafts,” Edgar said. “It wasn’t like he just dabbled in one. It was really impressive to see the quality and level of work. Every single moment is considered an opportunity.”

Sunroom, a Chicago-based risograph print studio, designed an interpretive zine inspired by Miller’s work. In addition to Glasner Studio, the playful and approachable nature of Miller’s work inspired Sunroom to design a children’s book-esque zine. 

“So much about his work was really inspirational to us,” Bryne said. “Not only did Miller work across all types of media, but he also operated within the spheres of commercial art, decorative art and fine art. He seemed to hold them all with the same regard and care and passion. He seemed to believe design and art should be a part of our everyday lives. 

DPAM’s focus has always been to highlight artists that have been marginalized from art history, De Lara said. Hosting panels, lectures, and workshops — all go towards telling and connecting people through an artist’s story. 

According to De Lara, particularly over the past decade, DPAM has focused on showcasing women artists, artists of color and LGBTQ artists. De Lara said that Edgar Miller fits outside of that. 

“Part of telling Edgar Miller’s story is telling his connection to so many artists across Chicago and really building community,” De Lara said. “Some of this is not just telling Edgar Miller’s story, but telling the story of the other artists from across Chicago that he was helping to champion and bring together. That was something that really struck us.” 

The work of both HOUR Studio and Sunroom are available for purchase at DPAM. The “Edgar Miller: Anti-Modern, 1917–1967” exhibition and “The Spaces We Call Home,”will be available until Feb. 23, 2025.

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