Joshua Smith and his miniatures in Palo Alto, California

The Australian artist Joshua Smith is famous for his realistic miniature buildings and is now participating in a collective art exhibition in the city of Palo Alto in California. His tiny masterpieces are a perfect fit for the theme of spotlighting dioramas in contemporary art.


Dioramas as an immersive experience long before the term was invented, a three-dimensional image that, as such, affects the perception and reception of the visual message, are enjoying a comeback, as we have already seen with the exhibition titled “Diorama. Inventing Illusion” to see at the Schirn Kunsthalle until 21 January 2018. An exhibition that for the first time explores the complicated relationship between diorama and reality, staging and reconstructed reality, something that many contemporary artists find fascinating and that is now being showcased in Palo Alto, California.
Here, the exhibition called “Through That Which Is Seen” is opening in the Palo Alto Art Center on 20 January and will run until 8 April. It includes different forms of artistic expression such as sculpture - including two new miniatures by Joshua Smith - photography, painting and videos to open up new, different worlds to us, all bearing a strong personal mark. 
Much can be said about why the practice of creating miniature worlds persists and here they include an old Discolandia Record Shop in the Mission District and another based on a San Francisco Golden Gate Disposal Dumpster, which even has an old takeaway pizza box on the ground, crafted by Joshua Smith for this occasion.
These miniatures can turn the most mundane subjects into something special and worthy of attention, they direct us to a more contemplative vision and are a means of escape from the humdrum of everyday life. The artworks by Joshua Smith blend fantasy and reality so seamlessly that we are magically transported into another dimension, simply by riding on the back of our imagination without the aid of digital technology.

Christiane Bürklein

Exhibition “Through That Which Is Seen”
from 20 January to 8 April 2018
at the Palo Alto Art Center, California.
Miniatures by Joshua Smith - http://www.iknowjoshuasmith.com/
Images: Ben Neale - https://www.instagram.com/ben_neale/
Information about the exhibition: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/csd/artcenter/exhibitions/upcoming.asp