Presented by Washington Sculptors Group in Collaboration with The Center for Hellenic Studies
May 27 – October 15, 2016
Participating Artists: Julia Bloom, Greg Braun, Elsabe Dixon, Stephanie Firestone, Felicia Glidden, Carol B. Goldberg, Tom Greaves, Edel Gregan, Jonathan Guyer, Kelly Lorraine Hendrickson, Jin Lee, Leigh Maddox, Jaqueline Maggi, James Mallos, Kass McGowan, Elizabeth Miller McCue, Jim Paulsen, Tatyana Schremko, Mike Shaffer, Lynda Smith-Bugge, Garret Strang, Lawrence S. Watson, Fabiola Alvarez Yurcisin
Anne Reeve, Juror
Artemis Herber, Curator
Opening Reception: May 27, 2016 from 7-9pm, Main Building
Center for Hellenic Studies
3100 Whitehaven Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Tel. (202) 745-4411
Hours: Open Monday – Friday 10am – 12pm / 2-4pm and by appointment
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION The concept of “Micro-Monuments” conveys a global perspective through miniaturization as a symptom of our times that derived from diverse cultural backgrounds of the exhibiting artists.
The exhibition explores the omnipresence of monuments as a universal idea in art within a trans-disciplinary and trans-cultural context of today. As an exhibition returning from Germany to the United States and its place of origin, the city of Washington, D.C., the Center for Hellenic Studies (CHS) creates an even more interconnected field between cultures, societies, and time through a cross-cultural collaboration.
Arranged in a multi-contextual exhibition design, each Micro-Monument represents diverse perspectives with arbitrary viewpoints from afar, and at the same time suggest a relationship within the specific installation milieu. The exhibition conveys the impression of Cabinets of Curiosities, representing a collection of worldviews of cultural heritages contributing to the depiction of a global perspective within an array of wonders.
Micro-Monuments features works by selected artists of the Washington Sculptors Group, as well as a stunning selection of artifacts as a crossover exhibition with references across time, place, and cultures in the interior of the Center For Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C. As a traveling and returning exhibition from Germany, it creates a different statement showing the same artworks within the context of the Center of Hellenic Studies than originally presented in the Salzland Museum in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Originally motivated by local excavations of a four circular grave system, the ancient monumental sanctuary is seen in the new context of the Center of Hellenic Studies in Washington DC, a city of monuments and monumental architecture. The artworks and the concept of the exhibition itself undergo a transformation. However the contextual analysis and exploration of deep time art projects still reveal a deeper understanding of people’s lives in prehistoric times, and will allow artist’s interpretations on topics of the cosmos, nature, and contemporary culture, as well as past and future societies.
Juried by Anne Reeve, 32 selected small-scale sculptures created within a “micro” format convey a global perspective that is informed by either the artist’s own personal background, or by experiences with other cultures and peoples, internationally or locally. Their global perspectives create references for Micro-Monuments.
About the Juror: Anne Reeve serves as assistant curator at the Glenstone Museum in Potomac, MD. Her writing has appeared in Art in America and Art Papers, and she is currently at work on a publication to accompany Glenstone's upcoming exhibition of works by late American artist Fred Sandback.
About the Curator: Artemis Herber was appointed as the curator for Transatlantic Cultural Projects Saxony-Anhalt to realize cross-cultural projects. She currently serves as the President of the Washington Sculptors Group.
Micro-Monuments is organized by Washington Sculptors Group, a non-profit organization founded in 1984 dedicated to promoting awareness of sculpture and fostering exchanges among sculptors, sculpture enthusiasts and the public.
Image: Edel Gregan, "The Evolution of Time", 8" x 8" x 8", Powder coated aluminum mesh