Living Art in York Museum Gardens: Harland Miller’s ‘Far Out’ in Florals.
Press Release: 15 July 2025
Living Art in York Museum Gardens: Harland Miller’s ‘Far Out’ in Florals.
Art and nature beautifully blend in York Museum Gardens this summer due to an exciting collaboration with York Art Gallery, introducing a popular artwork into the gardens in a unique and stunning way.
York Art Gallery’s current exhibition, Harland Miller: XXX, spills out into the Artists’ Garden at the rear of the Gallery, where Far Out, one of Harland Miller’s famous letter paintings, has been carefully re-created in a floral display alongside the wildflower meadow.
Far Out, currently hanging in York Art Gallery, is a diptych showcasing Harland Miller’s signature exploration of colour, form and letter styles. The gardens team replicated the vibrant colours by selecting flowering plants and foliage of similar hues and mapping out a planting plan to ensure the living art would burst into bloom during the height of summer.
Visit the balcony bar at York Art Gallery and view the floral Far Out from above. The balcony bar serves drinks and other refreshments on Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm-5pm. Then head down into the Gallery to see Harland Miller’s original piece.
Steve Williams, Garden Manager at York Museums Trust commented: ” The Garden’s version of Far Out is a beautiful display of florals and other plants replicating Harland Miller’s iconic paintings in a new medium. It is a contemporary interpretation of traditional summer bedding. Bringing art outdoors and working alongside York Art Gallery across the range of exhibitions each year is such a wonderful part of York Museums Trust’s public programme. The positive impact of art and nature on wellbeing is something we are keen to highlight within York Museum Gardens, whilst simultaneously showcasing the creative talent of the gardens team.”
With just over a month left of the exhibition, the floral Far Out is reaching its peak and will come to an end on 31 August 2025, the final day of the exhibition. Don’t miss out on the exhibition or the floral display.
ENDS
Notes to editors
We strongly encourage press and media to visit the gardens to take pictures/videos of the ‘Far Out’ diptych in bloom.
The peak will be between end of June and early August.
If you would like to come and photograph the gardens, or for more information and images please contact:
Amy Cope
Public Relations Officer
T: 07761634646
About York Museum Gardens
Supported by Arts Council England
York Museum Gardens was established in the 1830s by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society. The York Museum Gardens are famous for their collection of trees, shrubs and perennials, and bulbs. The land was granted to the Yorkshire Philosophical Society under the condition that botanical gardens would be established on the site. These were created Sir John Murray Naysmith and originally contained a conservatory, a pond and a menagerie. In 1960, the gardens and the Yorkshire Museum were given in trust to the City of York Council and, since 2002, have been managed by the York Museums Trust (Charity number: 1092466)
About the exhibition
Internationally acclaimed artist and writer Harland Miller returns to York Art Gallery this March to present ‘Harland Miller: XXX’, a new exhibition showcasing paintings and works on paper from his renowned ‘Letter Paintings’ series.
Inspired by his upbringing in 1970s Yorkshire and an itinerant lifestyle in New York, New Orleans, Berlin and Paris during the 1980s and ’90s, Miller creates colourful and graphically vernacular works that convey his love of popular language and attest to his enduring engagement with its narrative, aural and typographical possibilities.
This exhibition has been kindly supported by White Cube.
See the exhibition page here: Harland Miller: XXX | York Art Gallery
See a full list of events here: Harland Miller: XXX Events Programme | York Art Gallery
About York Art Gallery
Supported by Arts Council England
York Art Gallery’s collection of paintings spans more than 600 years and works range from 14th century Italian panels and 17th century Dutch masterpieces to Victorian narrative paintings and 20th century works by LS Lowry and David Hockney. The Gallery also holds the most extensive and representative collection of British Studio Ceramics, thanks to the acquisition of collections from Dean Milner–White, WA Ismay and Henry Rothschild and the long term loan of Anthony Shaw’s collection. Highlights are on show in the Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA). The Gallery and its collections are cared for by the charity York Museums Trust, established in 2002.
