''Through The Looking Glass' - Miniature Works of Art by 44 Modern & Contemporary Artists

Cob Gallery, 205 Royal College St., London NW10SG

Curated by Alteria Art & James Putnam

December 6, 2018 - January 19,2019            

Participating artists: -Alice Anderson · Becky Beasley · Zadok Ben David · Paul Benney · Emmanouil Bitsakis · Antony Cairns · Alexander Calder · James Capper Lynn Chadwick · Jake & Dinos Chapman · Charlotte Colbert · Susan Collis · Mat Collishaw · Adeline de Monseignat · India Dewar . Simon Faithfull · Tessa Farmer · Kitty Finer · Nancy Fouts · Nina Mae Fowler · Realf Heygate · Alba Hodsoll · Carlo & Fabio Ingrassia Soojin Kang · Idris Khan · Simon Linke · Reuben Mednikoff · Polly Morgan · Annie Morris · Grayson Perry · Pablo Picasso · Tristan Piggot Shahpour Pouyan · Joshua Press · Cat Roissetter · Jason Shulman · Kenji Sugiyama · Akiko & Masako Takada · Gavin Turk Eloise van der Heyden · Craig Wylie · Hirosuke Yabe · Walter & Zoniel · Yuri Zupancic

The exhibition title directly references Lewis Carroll’s sequel to ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’. ‘Through the Looking Glass’ harnesses the intimacy associated with this historical genre contrasted to the tendencies of the contemporary art world, which often favours large and imposing works. Substance and skill may sometimes be overlooked in these works and the sheer scale of the artwork can overwhelm the public, all semblance of critical thought being dwarfed by relational inferiority. Here, the intricacies of craft and technicality are highlighted, with smaller works imbued with signs of the artist’s patience and diligence giving a more intimate and precious sense to the pieces. Through The Looking Glass encourages people to slow down, take a closer look and really contemplate and sometimes marvel.
Young contemporary artists’ work is interwoven with modern artists works while a room is dedicated to Alexander Calder’s ‘Le Cirque Calder’, a film by Vilardebo of the artist performing a miniature Circus. Miniature artworks invite respect for their technical prowess and the daintiness of their construction, but that’s only a small aspect of their timeless appeal. Part of the fantasy of the miniature is that they offer an alternative universe, and in psychological terms, to create or interact with the miniature object is to play out a human desire for ‘total control’.
LINK to Publication

Alice Anderson

Kenji Sugiyama Akiko &Masako Takada