The Final Five by Harland Miller by Harland Miller
Explore Mondoir Collection
Medium: 26 colour silkscreen on Somerset Tub Sized Radiant White 600gsm paper
Dimensions: 86 x 59.3 cm
Edition production year: 2025
Price on request
Status: available
From Avantarte: Marking 90 years of Penguin Books, Harland Miller unveils the final-ever edition release of his beloved Penguin paintings. A collection of five limited edition silkscreen prints, Harland has selected some of his most well-known titles, pairing them with the iconic colours of Penguin. First exhibited in 1996 at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts, where he later became Writer in Residence, Harland's Penguin series reimagines vintage book jackets as large-scale paintings with wry, often provocative titles. The series propelled Miller to art-world stardom and is now one of contemporary art’s most sought-after pieces. The last print release of this seminal series is a result of close collaboration with the master printmakers at Make-Ready – a celebration of the art of both printmaking and painting brought to life in textured layers that faithfully-translate Harland’s cherished brushstroke. This piece launches in support of the artist’s upcoming Design Museum exhibition. This collector’s set contains 5 works from the Final Five. Each piece is an edition of 25. All pieces are same edition number, Titles: I Am The One I’ve Been Waiting For I’ll Never Forget What I Can’t Remember Love Saves The Day Not Giving Into Willpower This Is Where It’s Fuckin At
Why collect this work?
Five invented Penguin covers turn the familiar authority of publishing design into a frame for contradictory slogans. Repetition makes each phrase read both as a book title and a compressed public persona.
- The artist profile identifies Miller as both artist and writer. That dual practice clarifies his use of typography here: language functions as the principal image rather than as a caption.
- In the photograph, each sheet repeats an oval imprint, central title band and small penguin motif, while changing the dominant colour and phrase. The stable template sharpens shifts from profanity to sentimentality and self-doubt.
- The catalogue records 26-colour silkscreen on 600gsm Somerset paper. Multiple printed colours make possible the separation of lettering, emblems and irregular-looking colour fields without reducing the covers to clean graphic facsimiles.
- Encountered as a five-part set, the work permits comparison between competing verbal tones. Its significance lies in how a commercial visual language lends equal authority to declarations that undermine one another.
About the Artist
Harland Miller
Harland Miller is an artist featured in the Mondoir Collection.
Nationality: British
British artist known for text-based paintings inspired by literature.
