The Grunwald Gallery at Indiana University is pleased to announce The Miniature. This exhibition will open Friday, August 28 and continue through Saturday, October 3. Artist Joe Fig will give a lecture on Friday, August 28 at 5:00 pm, with a reception following from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at the Grunwald Gallery. William Robertson and Althea Crome will give demonstrations on Friday, September 11 at noon in the Grunwald Gallery.
For millennia, mankind has been fascinated with miniatures and examples can be found in art museums throughout the world. From the small representations of everyday life that were buried with the Egyptians to medieval pocket-sized illuminated devotionals, humans have been fascinated by the minute and diminutive. Small-scale objects intrigue people because they require more of our attention and imagination than we are used to giving. Why would someone make this, how does someone make this, and finally, how are we expected to interact with these objects?
The Miniature will feature the work of ten artists and artisans who create miniature work in a variety of media. Some of the artists make true miniatures: exact replicas of historical instruments or furniture, while others make models and miniature worlds of their own design. Many artists and craftspeople making works in miniature today display a compulsive motivation and an obsessive attention to detail. These artists must make unique tools to create their work, and the process of designing and constructing the tools to make these works is often as inventive as the finished pieces.
A series of demonstrations and lectures by the artists will be presented throughout the course of the show. These presentations will demonstrate some of the techniques the artists employ in conceiving and making their work.
This exhibit and corresponding programs were made possible by The College Arts and Humanities Institute and The Grunwald Gallery of Art, both at Indiana University.
A Short Introduction to the Artists
Matthew Albanese earned his BFA in Photography from the SUNY Purchase School of Art and Design in 2005. Albanese’s work centers around the construction of meticulously detailed miniatures made from found objects and household materials, such as spice and food.
John Almeda threw massive pieces on the potter’s wheel for years with a “the bigger the better” mentality until he came across the book “Creating Ceramic Miniatures.” Since then, he’s been working on a 1” scale, creating small vessels and bowls that without scale or context look exactly like their larger counterparts in detail and proportion.
Nell Corkin worked in the fashion industry and as a fine arts appraiser after receiving a BA in Art History from the University of Delaware. She then worked for ten years in the motion picture industry as a special effects model maker. She currently lives and works in Michigan, making 1/144-scale houses.
Althea Crome lives and works in Bloomington, IN, knitting on a 1/12 scale. She often creates her own needles out of stainless steel wires to produce 1/12 scale gloves and 1/144-scale cardigans. Her work has been featured in many exhibitions and publications and she produced a sweater and gloves for the film, Coraline.
Blane de St. Croix received his BFA in Sculpture from Massachusetts College of Art and MFA in Sculpture from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He is currently Associate Professor and the Head of Sculpture at Indiana University. He lives and works in Brooklyn, NY and Bloomington, IN. His work is represented by Fredericks & Freiser, New York.
Thomas Doyle lives and works in New York, creating intricate worlds sculpted in 1:100 to 1:43 scale. Often sealed under glass, Doyle’s sculptures depict human figures in a private, intense moment drawing the viewer in and giving them a feeling of omnipotence. Doyle is a recipient of the 2009 West Collection purchase prize and is a MacDowell Colony fellow.
Joe Fig makes paintings, sculptures, and drawings that retrace the working methods of fellow artists, giving viewers a rare look into the artist’s studio. He earned a BFA and MFA from the School of Visual Arts and has exhibited his work internationally. Fig is represented by Cristin Tierney Gallery in NY and lives and works in Connecticut’s Farmington River Valley.
Mark Murphy creates tiny replicas of furniture with materials that may not themselves be historically accurate, but look historically accurate. He studied furniture history and design at University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
Bill Robertson constructs individual objects and complete rooms at a 1/12 scale. These objects start with the study and research of the original components of the rooms. He studies the tools and methods used by the original craftsman to maintain proportion and detail when reducing an object to a smaller scale.
Lee-Ann Chellis Wessel earned a BFA in ceramics from Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia and an MFA in ceramics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. For over 30 years, Wessel has created fine-scale miniature works of art in pottery and porcelain. She has recently begun producing fine scale works in egg tempura in addition to her ceramic work.
Michael Yurkovic is an industrial designer and artisan with over 33 years of experience in building miniatures. Yurkovic crafts timeless icons, such as furniture and cars, of the Mid-Century Modern era at a 1/12 scale.
For further information, please contact the Grunwald Gallery at (812) 855-8490 or [email protected]. We invite you to visit our website at http://www.indiana.edu/~grunwald/. The Grunwald Gallery is accessible to people with disabilities. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday, noon – 4:00 pm, closed Sunday and Monday. All events are free and open to the public. For more information on the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts at Indiana University, please visit www.fa.indiana.edu.
Cost: Free
For more information contact:
Betsy Stirratt
(812) 855-8490
[email protected]