Big Dreams, Mega Art

I've chatted with a handful of fellow gallery directors over the past few months and one topic everyone is bringing what size artwork is trending right now. It seems that collectors have upped their art intake but have decreased the sizes of their acquisitions.
 

How does this trend affect artists that love to create large-scale artworks?
 

Diving deeper into my research, I tapped into the minds and studios of some of Miller Gallery's "big art" makers: Angela Chrusciaki Blehm, Dixie Purvis, and Suzy Lindow. 

 

SMG: With smaller art trending right now are you working on anything "mega" at the moment?
 

ACB: Yes! Essentially it is the same idea of the ribbon box I did for our first show together, just super sized.  The board is 48"w x 70"h x 3.5".

 

 

SMG: Have you ever seen an oversized piece of artwork that left a significant impression on you?

 

ACB: I had a surprising emotional reaction to Untitled (Say Goodbye, Catullus, to the Shores of Asia Minor) by Cy Twombly at the Menil's Cy Twombly Gallery in Houston.  At 157 x 624”, the painting engulfed me, and only me as I was the only person in the gallery at the time.  The silence, the enormity of the art, the colors and gestures, and the austerity of the room, all moved me to tears.

SMG: Where is one place you'd love to see your art?

ACB: Speaking of Houston, I love when my art is collected by Houstonians, since that is where I trained.  I would love to show at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.  

 

SMG: Dixie, you're a maker of Big Art. What the most fabulous piece in your studio right now?

 

DP: It is an oil painting on panel with plexiglass mounted 2 inches out, which also is painted. You get a third layer created by the shadow cast by the paint on plexi. The paint on plexi feels very sensual and has a lot of movement against the more subtle nuanced panel. This piece is 60" x 48" and is called Enough Abundance. 

SMG: If your work could be added to any collection, whose would it be?

 

DP: While my work is in multiple corporate and personal collections I would love to have my work in any museum! ANY museum... 

 

SMG: Suzy, we're over the moon to now have you on our permanent artist roster. YAY! Your recent exhibition with Angela, Modern Anatomy, included a few of your large-scale paintings. Do you have anything currently brewing in your studio that is looking for a large wall?

 

SL: Yes! I recently completed two 48" x 60" and one 49" x 49" paintings. These are a part of my serpentine series. 

SL: I also have a 48" x 48" piece that’s since gone to live with one of my favorite fellow art pals. It was inspired by some of my favorite type of textiles to pull inspiration, suzanis from Uzbekistan. I’ve always wanted to revisit the subject on an even BIGGER canvas because the psychedelic shapes and color ways to explore are just endless.  

SMG: Have you ever met a large-scale piece of art that stopped you in your tracks?

 

SL: I love the colorful art installation called Seven Magic Mountains. I don’t even care if it makes me basic—there’s a reason everyone makes the trek out to the middle of nowhere to see it! The powerful color combinations and configuration is brilliant.

SMG: If there was one person's home or museum collection that your art called home, whose would it be?

SL: A private collector who would be on my wishlist’s tippy top is Jonathan Adler. I’ve adored Jonathan Adler for as long as I could remember. His sense of whimsy and fearless color play make me tap dance.