Elephants at the Grand Rapids Art Museum

The weekend before Christmas the boy and I took a quick overnight trip to Grand Rapids with his dad and stepmom. I was itching to see the Real/Surreal exhibit at the Grand Rapids Art Museum before its closing on January 13, 2013. That show was dark, brooding with just a couple of stand out pieces (to my mind), but the entire trip was worth it if only to see Elephants by Adonna Khare. 

This enormous pencil drawing was the grand prize winner of the 2012 ArtPrize and it just took my breath away. The scale and detail of it is incredible. I could have stayed and examined it for days. It is three paper panels which Khare embellished in the installation with little details bridging and surrounding them: a giraffe scales the air vent next to the installation; a billy goat walks a wire between two of the panels; the water scene extends to the floor. 

If you ever have the opportunity to see this, take it. You will be astounded. It makes me want to draw. REALLY draw: big and sumptuous and detailed and thriving.