Exhibition Description:

Artist Micah Adams makes art that you want to keep in your pocket. These “pocket sculptures” or “fictional keepsakes,” as he calls them, are intended for private use and reflection. They are intimate things that invite you to slow down and spend time with them. There is a warmth attached to his work, a kind of sentimental feeling, not unlike how one feels toward a beloved memento. As a child, Adams was fascinated by Lego and its puzzle-like properties. Some of this, at least, carried over into his current art practice. Through a combination of critical play, free thinking, and daydreaming, he researches how vastly different objects and materials can fit together to create unexpected meanings and associations. This often involves the clever and precise manipulation of coins, metals, wood, banknotes, and other materials using modern tools such as a laser welder. He also employs ballpoint pen or pencil crayon on paper to illustrate different world currencies and found objects rejigged to coexist in absurd and hilarious ways. Installed in the studio or in the gallery, his work is meant to be discovered by accident and induce a pleasant surprise, as one would experience finding a coin on the sidewalk. With works placed in unconventional areas or hiding in plain sight throughout Glenhyrst, Adams has transformed the gallery into a site of wonder, surprise, and anticipation.