Miniatures & Multiples opened in Brisbane at Spiro and Grace Art Rooms (SGAR) last Friday night to an enthusiastic audience. Having followed the careers of many of the artists and designers in the selected group exhibition, it was meaningful to see the way in which they interpreted the brief. Whether their work for the show was a reflection in miniature of existing works in their creative arsenals, or prototypes for larger works currently under investigation, the show was tightly curated and simply presented.
From the SGAR website:
This unique SGAR exhibition highlights the convergence of art and design through intimate scale artefacts and limited edition keepsakes. Highlighting the tradition of miniatures and multiples as collectible objects, eighteen of Australia and the Asia Pacific’s top creatives were invited to respond to this curatorial rationale to produce artefacts that give access to and draw on this key conceptual concern. The resulting exhibition is an examination of the role of miniatures and multiples in contemporary design/art practice. With each creative responding to the tradition in their own way, from detailed miniatures of large scale sculptural works, small scale lighting forms and carefully crafted luxury artefacts.
The rejection of mass production in favour of one off and limited edition artefacts is at the core of this exhibition with traditional design/art principles initially questioned through creative process. By removing function through a change in scale, some works are reduced to pure formal expression and become a unique sculptural exhibition artefact. It is through this reinterpretation of traditional design and art principles that Miniatures and Multiples questions the convergence of history with technology and the concept of re-imagined artefacts as collectable object and accessible keepsake.
Featuring work by Chris Bosse, Alexander Lotersztain, Christina Waterson, Korban Flaubert, Donna Marcus, Simone LeAmon, Fukutoshi Ueno, Grace Tan, Kaori Kato, Alister Yiap, Matt Dwyer, Charles Robb, Reko Rennie, Giles Alexander, Kent Gration, Katrina Tyler and Grace Tan.
Curated by SGAR Project Coordinator/Curator, Jenni Baxter, and SGAR Director, Renai Grace.
My advice is to (and in this order) visit the SGAR website and join the mailing list for future exhibitions and events (trust me, you don’t want to miss out), and get over to see this show if you’re in town.
Exhibition continues to 30 April 2011…
