ExhibitionsPlease Touch

Brett Miller, Montera Ottoman, 2024

Brett Miller, Templates, 2025

Brett Miller, James Webb Bonzer, 2023

Gallery 495 is thrilled to present Brett Miller's latest exhibition, Please Touch. This body of work represents a decade of self-discovery, exploration, and experimentation. When Miller moved to New York in early 2015, he found himself grappling with questions of identity, purpose, and direction. Through his journey into the world of design and functional art, he discovered not only his passion but also himself.

"I’ve never been one to follow the rules, but through my practice and working with natural materials, I’ve gained a deep appreciation and respect for universal laws. Some things just won’t work, but most things do. And within the parameters of functionality, there’s almost  limitless wiggle room for the expression of form."— Brett Miller

A tactile person by nature, Miller can’t help but engage with objects physically, particularly those that invite interaction. Round shapes, especially, seem to call out to be touched. Please Touch is a nod to breaking the rules, stepping outside the boundaries, tasting the forbidden fruit, and doing the things you’re told not to do. Because, why not? Why does a table have to be rectangular, square, or even circular? Why does a chair need four legs? Why does a cabinet have to be static? 'Why?' is a fundamental question—the first question we ask as children when we gain the ability to speak. But before we ask why, we touch. To know, to understand, to feel—we touch.

So let the rule-breaking child in you out and, Please Touch. 

Brett Miller is a woodworker living in upstate New York. Originally moving to the Hudson Valley to pursue farming, he eventually transitioned into metal fabrication before finding his passion in furniture making. In 2017, Miller began his own studio, Jackrabbit Studio, and made it a full-time endeavor in 2018.