Social distancing and shelter in place orders have required everyone to find new ways to do their work and stay connected with their communities. Although this has been a challenge, the current restrictions have also inspired a lot of creativity and innovation.
Three cheers to Boston artist Eben Haines, who devised a particularly captivating alternative for displaying art during the pandemic. Haines has created Shelter in Place Gallery (@shelterinplacegallery on Instagram), a miniature model gallery where he hosts installations of local artists who create scale works for the tiny space. Essentially, 1 inch equals 1 foot.
This week he is featuring 13FOREST artist Nicole Duennebier, who created six new small scale paintings for the show. You can find Duennebier's thoughts on the series here. Read what Haines had to say about his inspiration for Shelter in Place Gallery below. Shelter in Place Gallery also received a great write up by WBUR; read the article here.
Shelter in Place Gallery
Installation shot of Nicole Duennebier’s show at Shelter in Place Gallery
Initially, Shelter in Place Gallery was built to test my own ideas, to make large scale installations financially feasible. As I packed up what I thought I'd need to make work at home in between the day-job stuff, including this silly half-built scale model, I began to worry about what having significantly less space would do to my practice. That was when I realized how fruitful this space could be for artists coping with the same situation, who need an impetus to continue making through this new reality we've been placed in. I want this gallery to be a motivator, to get people unstuck from crisis mode for a little while, and then later they can use these images and proposals to pitch to galleries, grant organizations, and residency programs. I want artists to look at this opportunity as a reason to make the work they've always wanted to, but don't have the money or time to pull off, especially now when time is abundant but resources are near zero. There will be plenty of time to make what you always make after all of this is over, so right now how about making things ten times as big, with a solo show to work toward? I've been blown away by what I've seen so far, and I can't wait for what’s next.
Eben Haines was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1990, and he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2013. His work emphasizes the history and process of object, focusing on human form and the built environment. Using a covering over and building up of material, he tries to present hand, object, and image simultaneously. He currently lives and works in Boston.
Eben Haines
Previous installations at Shelter in Place Gallery
