Chris Miller was born in Hawaii and grew up in Pennsylvania. He graduated with an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2005. From 2006-2009 Miller was awarded the Turner Teaching Fellowship at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Since 2010, Miller has taught at the California
State University, Long Beach where he continues to teach ceramics and manage the Three-Dimensional Foundation program.

Grounded in both intuition and environmental observation, Miller’s practice is informed by his experiences in natural and built environments. He often draws inspiration from his surroundings while distance running, observing the interplay of land, sea, and human-made elements. These moments of collision—where organic and industrial, beautiful and unsettling, coexist—fuel his process. He takes cues from impromptu sculptures in the landscape, like sticks planted in the ground with bits of fabric or etchings in sand and concrete. These encounters inform the complexity of his work, which mirrors the layered and chaotic beauty of the world around him. By blending organic, geologic, and anthropomorphic references, Miller creates objects that feel both familiar and undefinable, offering viewers a rich experience that echoes the complexity of the environments that surround us.