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As the world’s most well known designers begin to unveil their latest creations in New York this Fashion Week, Bostonians can see some extraordinary designs on a much smaller scale thanks to an exhibition dedicated to artist Charles LeDray at the Institute of Contemporary Art.

Again, it’s on a much smaller scale.

No…much smaller.

Smaller than that.

Charles LeDray, MENS SUITS. Photo Courtesy of the ICA, Boston

The small scale sculptures included in workworkworkworkwork bucks “the bigger, the better” trend so popular in today’s contemporary art scene and goes far beyond small scale haute couture. Miniature bound books, beautifully glazed thumb-sized urns and small scale replicas of antique furniture carved from human bone are all on view.

LeDray, a native of Seattle, learned to sew from his mother at age four, and could knit and macramé by 10. He received no formal fine arts training and briefly worked as a security guard at the Seattle Art Museum. "Many nights I would leave the museum with a burning desire to make something -- anything -- inspired by spending the day with great works of art," LeDray told the Seattle Post Intelligencer in a 2003 interview.


One of the installations, Throwing Shadows, features more than 3,000 black porcelain pots. Displayed in a row of three jewelry cases, the harsh museum lighting creates thousands of shadows from these tiny ebony figures, doubling the already vast number of handmade creations.

Charles LeDray, Throwing Shadows. Photo Courtesy of the ICA, Boston

In a world of mass market disposable fashion, where knockoffs of $4,000 Hermès Birkin bags can be bought from the trunk of a Chrysler in Long Island City (one in black and one in red, Bitches!), Ledray’s one of a kind handmade pieces are almost too good to be true. In this month’s ARTNews, artist Nari Ward writes “The aspect most relevant for contemporary art is figuring out how to take a formal language and push it as much as possible.” By taking a men’s blazer and recreating it on such a small scale - the almost microscopic buttons, epilates and patches all created from hand - Ledray forces us to reexamine the countless items we surround ourselves with on a daily basis.

workworkworkworkwork is on view at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston until Oct. 17. After its debut at the ICA, the exhibition travels to the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (Nov. 18, 2010—Feb. 13, 2011) and to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (May 8—Sept. 11, 2011).

For more information, visit the ICA’s Web site here.

Editorial Disclaimer: The author of this post received discounted or complementary admission to the above mentioned exhibition, courtesy of the host institution, organization or gallery.