Jill Orlov

About the Artist

Education: University of Virginia – Bachelor of Science in Architecture 1991 University of Pennsylvania, Advanced Standing Placement – Master of Architecture 1995 Exhibitions - Museums and Galleries: Aug – Sept 2020               Creative Alliance BIG Show Member’s Exhibition. Group exhibit. Aug – Nov 2020                Biennial Members Exhibition - Fuller Craft Museum. Group exhibit June 28 – July 19, 2019   The Studios at the Fox Building in Baltimore, Maryland. Group exhibit May 4 – Sept 15, 2019     The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures in Tucson, Arizona. Solo exhibition Borrowed Time / Borrowed Books including six vignettes of miniature libraries depicted in literature, film and television July 20 – Aug 5, 2018       Baltimore Office of Production in the Arts & Artscape - Dolphin Gallery. Group show Open During Construction. Julia’s Kitchen in a Box July 7 – Aug 3, 2018         Towson University Center of Fine Arts. Group show Extravagant Visions, Extraordinary Imaginings. “To be an artist is to recapture childhood at will”. Brady Bunch Stair in a Box May 5 – July 22, 2018      D. Thomas Fine Arts Gallery in Yonkers, NY. Group show Badass Miniatures – Causing a Little Trouble - 30 artists from around the world. “Tiny art pushing the boundaries of the traditional miniature art form.” Badass Boudoir Dec 2017 – Jan 2018        Made in Baltimore – Pop Up Holiday Show June – Sept 2017               D. Thomas Fine Arts Gallery in Hastings on Hudson, New York. Group show Wee Resist including 12 artists from around the world. “Big Message Small Art. Miniaturists confronting cultural fears and providing commentary on an unstable world.” My piece “O” is a miniature representation of the Oval Office with a rotating floor showing the current and the former office. May – Sept 2017               D. Thomas Fine Arts Gallery in Hastings on Hudson, New York. Solo show Those Were The Days – Pop Icon TV Show Sets Reimagined in Miniature. Exhibited Julia’s Kitchen in a Box, Brady Bunch Stair in a Box and Archie & Edith’s Sitting Room in a Box Oct 2016 - Sept 2017       American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. YUMMM! The History, Fantasy and Future of Food. A group show of 34 artists. Exhibited Kitchen in a Box, French Dining Room in a Box and the Champagne Bubble Chair May 2016 – Jan 2017       National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.  Small Stories: At Home in a Dollhouse accompanied with 24 Dream Rooms designed by local artists and designers commissioned by the museum to accompany the exhibit. Mouseum in a Box Dream Room Dec 2016                             Baltimore Museum of Art gift shop, front windows themed to accompany the exhibit Imagining Home. Exhibited Kitchen in a Box, Nightstand, and Sofa Table 

Artist's Statement

My architectural vignettes draw the observer into alternative worlds through the manipulation of scale and nostalgic familiarity of classic designs. Miniatures encourage taking a closer look, everything condensed in a focused field of vision. As with a whisper, one must lean in and look closely. Using predominantly TIG welded steel and other metals, the grey tonal background creates a monochromatic landscape, timeless and dramatic, mimicking the contrasting effects of black and white photography. Selective use of color and texture refocus the attention to other minute details. Extensively researched “found” objects, taken out of context and reimagined, layer the story with other histories. Fragments of memories and combined scenes redirect our peripheral visions to the forefront. Literature and cinema are gateways to worlds beyond our imaginations within; my work manifests and transforms those scenes to remember and learn from the past.