The tiniest art gallery in town can be found on the second floor of the Feigenbaum Center for Visual Arts, on an otherwise unassuming wall between the offices of Allison Conley and Frank Rapant.
The two – she’s a lecturer in printmaking and drawing, and he’s a photography and exhibition technician – created the gallery in fall 2023 as a way to fill an empty space and spark the imagination. Though Lilliputian in size, there’s nothing trivial about it.
Measuring 18 inches high by 12 inches wide, the Tiny AF Gallery (using the creators’ initials), features several glass-encased display shelves.
“We saw this blank spot and started talking about doing something fun and creative to spruce it up,” Conley said. “We wondered, what if we did a tiny gallery? I had this shadowbox in my office, and one day we said, ‘Today’s the day.’ And up it went.”
The inaugural show included tiny photos from a contact sheet that came from an anonymous artist in response to a call for submissions (on tiny posters, of course).
The current show is “Of Mice and Man: A Tiny Tribute.” It features six colorful paper sculptures that pay homage to the artworks of Chris Duncan, the May I. Baker Professor of Visual Arts, who teaches three-dimensional art.
There’s a tale to it all (if not a tail). The work is purported to be by a mouse who’s a fictitious faculty member from the invented Murine School of Fine Arts. Arts Department Coordinator Victoria Rotondi created the mouse professor’s colorful sculptures out of paper, cardboard, wood, acrylic paint and polyvinyl acetate.
“I love Chris Duncan’s recent sculptures, so I was excited to honor them by making these miniatures,” Rotondi said.
To maximize the Tiny AF Gallery viewing experience, there’s overhead lighting, a mini security camera and a wee guest book filled with admiring comments.
The next exhibition will present works by Tina Lincer of the Department of Communications and Marketing. Lincer, a writer and editor for the College since 2005, regularly covers Union’s visual, performing and literary arts.
“I’m happy to contribute to the Tiny AF Gallery in my own small way,” she said.
In the meantime, members of the campus community interested in having their artwork displayed in future Tiny AF Gallery shows should contact Allison Conley at conleya@union.edu.