By Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press
Jun. 21--Tom Lauerman's new ceramic works recall the old Steve Martin bit, "Let's get small!" Seriously playful, they span 1 to 10 inches long and aren't afraid to smile. Shapes range from hard-edged geometries to organic curves, the colors from luscious burnt orange to cool pastels and earth tones. Each piece is an enchanting riddle, a witty structure wise to the pleasure principle.
Lauerman, a 35-year-old Chicagoan and MFA graduate from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, shares the spotlight in a new exhibit at Lemberg Gallery with Fabio Fernandez. "Sculptures in Love with Architecture" features about 100 works, the majority by Lauerman, though Lauerman crafted a few of the objects from drawings by his colleague.
The title references the late architect John Hejduk's book "Architectures in Love" and underscores the influence of architecture and design on both artists. Here's Lauerman talking about his own work:
On size: "You look at small things differently, and a lot of these pieces are intricate in the level of detail. It's like looking at a model where you have to bend down and get closer to the thing than you normally would as opposed to a large painting."
On balance: "I appreciate heavy conceptual art, but I also appreciate really fine craft. Personally, I like it when those things meet and get really messy. You start with a pretty good idea, but if you just have an idea in your head and make it happen, there's not so much mystery to that.
"I like the weird things that happen along the way. You have to resist the material doing what it wants to do, but at a certain point it just overwhelms you and it's like, 'Wow, that's really amazing. I think I'll change my idea a little bit.' I like those messy intersections of concept and craft."
On reaction: "When I started this body of work I would come into my studio after being away and they would all be rearranged. People are just really comfortable with them. Other works I would make nobody would touch, because it was art and you're not supposed to move it without permission. So there's something about the size that makes people want to play, and I like that -- not that I'm asking them to do that at the gallery."
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