Bedford Gallery to Explore Art On A Small Scale With BITS + PIECES Beginning in September

Bedford Gallery will explore the cultural phenomenon of miniature things with the exhibition Bits + Pieces: Contemporary Art on a Small Scale. From teacup dogs and ships in a bottle, to tiny dinner tables set with a feast, fascination with pint-sized items has endured the test of time. The featured artists work in micro and small-scale, creating intricate paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and installations in direct opposition to their standard-sized counterparts. A celebration of precise, minute works, Bits + Pieces will be on view September 30 through December 17, 2023, from 12:00pm-5:00pm, Wednesday through Sunday at Bedford Gallery inside Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr, Walnut Creek. For more information, the public may visit bedfordgallery.org. Pay-what-you-can tickets are available for purchase online or at the door. Bedford Gallery will be open for special hours on Saturday, September 30, 2023, kicking off with a donor preview, followed by a public opening reception ($5 for non-donors).

The popularity of miniatures has grown exponentially, with hundreds of groups and societies dedicated solely to creating tiny works of art. While subject matter varies widely, there are a set of rules that generally define what is and isn't miniature. An accepted guideline among many of today's miniaturists is that subjects do not exceed one-sixth their natural size. Some exceptions are permitted if the abstractions embrace the delicate essence and spirit of miniaturism. This fascinating approach is embraced in the artwork seen in Bits + Pieces, which ranges from Andrea Fábrega's itty bitty porcelain pots thrown on a full-sized pottery wheel to Deborah Benioff Friedman's expressive portraits made of thumbprints and Kaci Smith's embroidery floss and poultry wishbone weavings.

The 16 participating artists are dedicated to pulling the viewer in, offering an opportunity to be up close and personal with the work, an uncommon experience since viewing art in its entirety is often done from a distance. The still lifes, needlework and shadowbox scenes of Laura Critchlow, Ágnes Herczeg, and Lisa Swerling draw from personal beliefs and experiences rendering special objects and ideas with exquisite detail that requires close inspection to fully understand and appreciate the deft skill applied.

Artists like Tammie Knight, Robina Patterson and Carolyn Tillie assemble domestic and public spaces into miniature replicas of life-sized rooms and objects. While Patterson and Tillie recreate kitchen scenes and giftboxes, commenting on consumerism and commodification, Knight's micro galleries tell the story of Black people through portrait photography.

Derrick Lin and duo Aleia Murawski and Sam Copeland photograph and film tiny, custom-built environments, giving inordinate time and attention to everyday tasks and activities like organizing meetings, visiting the grocery store, and the ritual of a morning coffee.

 

Thibaut Malet, Isaac Cordal and Virginia Filipova carve, felt and mold small figures and landscapes, while Kendall Murray and Shannon Taylor use small compacts, lockets, and cloches to create intricate vignettes that burst with movement, color and, often times, humor.

In addition to the exhibition Bits + Pieces: Contemporary Art on a Small Scale, Bedford Gallery will also offer two workshops led by exhibition artists that are open to the public. Descriptions are below with additional information on tickets at bedfordgallery.org/membership/events.

Branch Weaving with Kaci Smith

1:00pm–3:00pm, Saturday, September 30
Artist Kaci Smith will host an afternoon of branch weaving, where attendees will learn how to turn an ordinary branch into a loom and weave a vibrant, small-scale tapestry. 
 

Build a Popup Gallery with Tammie Knight

11:00am–2:00pm, Sunday, December 3
Art lovers will build their very own micro art gallery with miniature extraordinaire Tammie Knight.

 

This exhibition is sponsored by Diablo Regional Arts Association and Lesher Foundation.

About Bedford Gallery

Bedford Gallery (BG), a program of the City of Walnut Creek, shows the work of modern and contemporary artists. The gallery is dedicated to providing the public with opportunities to learn about visual arts through public programs that are varied, accessible, challenging, and educational. Its mission is to provide exhibitions and other programs that both reflect and engage the diverse audiences of the entire Contra Costa County region. With 3,500 square feet of exhibition space, Bedford Gallery is the largest municipally operated visual arts facility between the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento.

About Lesher Center for the Arts

Lesher Center for the Arts is the premier arts venue in Central Contra Costa County. Located in the heart of downtown Walnut Creek, the center offers three separate theatres and Bedford Gallery, a visual arts gallery, presenting the best of theater, ballet, comedy, and visual art.

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