Last night’s long queues at White Cube in London signalled that a rock star was perhaps on the premises of the Bermondsey-based gallery for a special art event. Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood was indeed seen milling among the guests but the real superstar was the artist and writer Harland Miller who was signing copies of his monograph In Shadows, I Boogie (published by Phaidon). The arty new volume includes Miller's cheeky Penguin Book series of paintings emblazoned with cheeky phrases such as “Don’t Let the Bastards Cheer You Up” and “Wake Up And Smell The Coffin”.
But Wood was not the only celebrity soaking up the arty atmosphere at the White Cube bash, with football pundit Gary Lineker and musician Jarvis Cocker also in attendance, along with scores of millennials keen to get their own special message from Miller. One devotee even asked the artist if it is possible to commission a work direct, only to be told politely by Harland that there is a two-year wait for his sartorial, sardonic creations.