ON VIEW
May 7 – 16, 2026

OPENING RECEPTION
Thursday, May 7, 5 – 7 pm

Darby Miller

@miss___extremophile_

Darby Miller (b. Baton Rouge) began her art practice out of a deep necessity to understand her place in the world. She earned her B.F.A. from Louisiana State University in 2023, focusing on painting and drawing, and began exploring sculpture as she neared graduation. Currently pursuing further studies at Maine College of Art & Design (MFA, projected 2026), her work has evolved to incorporate found materials, particularly concrete, plaster, and personal residues. This expansion into sculpture reflects her ongoing engagement with self-portraiture, color, and composition, approached through a systematic, fluid lens rooted in assemblage. Miller has exhibited in shows like Peach Fuzz (MECA&D, Portland, ME) and Rising (82 Parris, Portland, ME), and collaborated with ICA director Iris Williamson on the 2025 exhibition otherwise. Her written work has been published in Catacombs Press (2024) and the Institute of Contemporary Art: otherwise (2024).


I am an interdisciplinary artist working with concrete, plaster, and found materials - e.g., the innards of my vacuum, spilt coffee, or misplaced phone numbers. Together they are solid formations which synthesize my susurristic presence in my surroundings. This is articulated through text based research on existentialism, phenomenology, and assemblage as core theories of my conceptual practice. This process is an abstracted creation of self-portraiture and personal space, a parameter set to explore how the sensible and identity take shape through touch, time, and transformation.

The MFA Thesis Exhibition for the Class of 2026 incorporates a range of making practices spanning themes including the natural and built environments, the uncanny, the everyday, health, grief, and personal and cultural histories. With an emphasis on both the personal and the global, these nine artists make a variety of contributions through ceramics, drawings, photography, prints, sculptures, and sound and video installations. The nature of their work and research demonstrates the caliber and cultural relevance of MECA&D’s MFA Studio Art program.








Institute of Contemporary Art
at Maine College of Art & Design
522 Congress St. Portland, ME 04101

Gallery Hours:
Wed–Sun, 11:00am–5:00pm,
Thursday, 11:00am–7:00pm