Miller explicitly references the architecture of Albert Speer, who worked for the Nazi regime. Commissioned by the Kaiser in 1828, the bowl was later adopted by Hitler and provided the backdrop to rallies during his power. Though having had previous incarnations, ‘Mourning for a World of Rubbish’ features the new reference to the Lustgarten bowl. Here the mannequin has been diced a discarded hand is littered alongside water bottles, weaponry, bread rolls and trinkets. Scattered across the structures is a booty of the banal. The neoclassical forms call to mind ancient ruins of times long passed however the work is firmly rooted in its contemporary context. Fragmented structures of columns, plinths and steps are covered entirely with gold-leaf. The most recent work is also the exhibition’s most ostentatious ‘Mourning for a World of Rubbish’ (2020) occupies the centre of the upstairs space. As Miller himself notes, “removing the sword would hardly present a challenge.” The well-known image is democratised here, shifting the narrative from an exclusive challenge preserved by legend to one that could be literally anyone’s for the taking. Playing on the legend of King Arthur, impervious stone is replaced with a muddy, glob-like mound, the sword a plastic alternative to Excalibur.
Occupying the entrance to the exhibition, a sword is set in a floor sculpture. ‘We painted naive slogans on the side of our camper’ (1992) operates in a similar manner. Captured in the process of decay, the sculptures are relegated from a status of power to one of rapid decline. The upright structures give a sense of authority and hierarchy, neatly undermined by the excrement-like lumps through which each are formed. ‘Feet of Clay’ (1988) presents two separate statues atop obelisks. Alluding to the Freudian association between excrement and currency, the repeated use of the colour and faecal shape in these sculptures critically questions the values of our world. There is the storefront mannequin in a suit lacquered with paint (later purchased and repurposed by Martin Kippenberger), a defiant ‘NO’ spelt out as two rugs and brown impasto sculptures. The early work, ranging from 1986 to 1992, introduces the famous ‘John Miller brown’. However, the commentary across the exhibition is unifying whether chasing the significance of the everyday or interrogating, even mocking, established hierarchies of power, Miller is interested in processes, specifically when these processes are subject to interruption and deterioration. Miller refuses to be pigeonholed or swiftly pinned down, punctuating his work with a beat of wry humour along the way. Exhibited at Schinkel Pavillon is a divergent and at times incongruous body of work, including sculpture, video and painting. The first retrospective of John Miller’s work in Germany, ‘An Elixir of Immortality’ provides a comprehensive overview spanning from the 1980s to the present. John Miller: An Elixir of Immortality Schinkel Pavillon 6 June - 13 December 2020 Review by Eva Szwarc Title : Installation view, An Elixir of Immortality, John Miller, photo: Andrea Rossetti Website :.