**Check out the *Small Works* juried exhibition catalogue!**

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Small Works
Juried Exhibition
September 26 - October 13
Reception: September 29, 5-7pm

Strata Gallery is happy to present our upcoming juried exhibition, “Small Works,” which will be on view from September 26 through October 13, 2023, with a special reception on September 29th from 5-7pm. Strata Gallery co-founders, Jennifer Van, Stephanie Jacinto, and David Olivant have selected the works of 48 artists from eight states, Berlin and Fakenham. A total of sixty-four artworks in various media were selected for inclusion - photography, painting, fiber, ceramic, collage, intaglio, drawing, lithography, wood, caster paper, recycled cans and stainless steel.

Small works are often underappreciated in a contemporary climate where artists feel they must make an increasingly bigger splash, where intimacy, delicacy and precision get the short curatorial straw. The quality of works in this exhibit belies that trend and makes a case for close inspection, private worlds and the thrill of discovering a gem.

Minimalism fares well in this environment and the intricate works of Eleanor Wood bear this out - exquisitely nuanced surfaces, finely calibrated proportions, and an unerring sense of composure. At the other end of the spectrum Deirdre Brown evokes cosmic rays through evocative microscopic textural shifts – a universe contained in a square foot of canvas! This is a scale that lends itself to the intricacy of woven materials and Al Canner employs knotted cords of cotton, hemp, rayon and glass beads to generate a lively hexapod.

On a different spectrum, Jack Crouch’s collage “After the Faculty Meeting” puns on the smallness of the painting with the depiction of a tantrum-possessed toddler who symbolizes just how heated intellectuals can get, over the triviality of administrative disagreements! Daniel Esquivia-Zapata revels in the delicacy that graphite is capable of with a beautifully nuanced portrait of Cecilia. Susanne Kessler from Berlin reminds us that small can also be monumental with her “Book Moth” weighing in at 15 x 15 inches. With a parallel ambition the small archival inkjet prints of Mehrdad Mirzaie open a window to deep, occluded histories and the suffering of a nation. To end on a happier note, Katie Sandridge gives us a two by four-inch ceramic stoneware reminding us of the preciousness of our arid environment.

This has been to follow very few of the myriad possible threads that weave their stylistic and thematic journey through these minuscule moments of integrity, resilience, mischief making and modesty. We feel sure that viewers will uncover their own surprises and perhaps lose themselves in miniature but monumental, microcosmic magic.

Small Works aims to celebrate the power of small artworks that invites viewers to explore the intricacies of minute details.

Exhibiting Artists:
Al Canner, Anna Bush Crews, Anthony Pessler, Chris Wubbena, Claire Moore, Daniel Esquivia Zapata, David Larson, David Linn, Deirdre Brown, Dominick Porras, Donna Fleetwood, Drew Gaines, Eleanor Wood, Falon Mihalic, Francesca Yorke, Gordon Senior, Hannah Freeman, Hannah Ramage, Heidi Cost, Jacey Coca, Jack Crouch, Jacqueline Mallegni, John Decker, Juan Granados, Judy Stevens, Katie Sandridge, Kenneth FitzGerald, Linda Barlow, Lita Kenyon, Lori Colt, Marie Birkedal, Marisa Brown, Megan Morgan, Mehrdad Mirzaie, Mikki Ulaszewski, Myra Colbert, Nandi Makala, Robert Hoerlein, Robin Hesse, Sihan Zhu, Simon Levy, Simone Schiffmacher, Snow Pond Ceramics, Susan Lefkowich, Susanne Kessler, Theodora Varnay Jones, Vanessa Gonzalez, Yeon Choi

Prizes:

$100 - President’s Choice (1)
Robert Hoerlein, the body gives itself for nothing #9, oil and acrylic on stretched canvas, panel, bones, 14 x 16 x 4.5 in, 2023
$100 - Director’s Choice (1)
Jacqueline Mallegni, Blue & White, handmade paper, indigo, silk thread, rattan, 8 x 9 x 9 in, 2023
$100 - Assistant Director's Choice (1)
Jacey Coca, Splitting Cells (Untitled No. 2), beads and thread, 4 x 5 x 0.25 in, 2023