An art exhibit showcasing small works is hardly the place you’d expect to find a copy of “War and Peace.”
Unless the exhibit features artist Maggie Kerrigan.
Look for a half dozen 3D designs by the book artist in “Small Works,” an annual exhibition opening Nov. 30 at Hampton’s Charles H. Taylor Visual Arts Center. None of the 414 diminutive works in the exhibit can exceed 8 inches on any side or in diameter.
Kerrigan alters books to make sculptures by cutting, carving, folding, paper casting and often deconstruction of what might be a great work of literature to make an exceptional work of art.
“I painted for a long time, but I never felt like I had my voice in that,” said the Newport News native who resides in Virginia Beach today with her husband, Don, and a shaggy Goldendoodle named Luna. “I didn’t have a reason for it. Now I’m never at a shortage for ideas.”
As daunting as Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” might be to digest at more than 1,200 pages long, Kerrigan transformed the paperback edition into a 2x6x5-inch sculpture by hand, cutting the paper to carve the word PEACE into the forward-facing pages between the front and back covers.
The message and curated book always relate in Kerrigan’s vast portfolio that also contains 2D collages, installations giant in scope, and detailed sculptures, such as a paper-cast typewriter created as a nod to authors who relied on typewriters over computers.
Appropriately, the piece titled “The Infinity of Imagination” is made from a book by Tom Wolfe, known for typing his manuscripts.
“Sometimes I have an idea and then I have to find the right book,” Kerrigan said. “The art is always connected. I don’t just get a random book and make a flower.”
Sometimes Kerrigan carves images in the paper instead of words. She draws the image and exaggerates it by stretching it before it's printed on graph paper.
“Each line tells me where I need to cut or fold the page to make each little piece of the picture,” she said.
Two of her works in the exhibit demonstrate that technique – including one with a winding staircase from a Nancy Drew mystery from the 1930s.
Also look for “Out Damned Spot,” an 1898 edition of “MacBeth” that mimics the unraveling of one of Shakespeare’s most famous female protagonists trying to remove the blood she thinks is on her hands. Kerrigan removed layers from the book to reveal those famous words and for a twist, added weaving to represent a visible cage.
Kerrigan, among the artists with studio space in the Virginia Beach Art Center, often teaches others her art, using books from thrift stores or those that are otherwise destined for a landfill.
As a reader, Kerrigan leans toward historical fiction; “The Poisonwood Bible” is an all-time favorite. Most of the time though, when a book catches her attention, she’s thinking of her art.
The Small Works exhibition contains the work of 89 artists in painting, clay, paper, mixed media, watercolor, photography, wood, fiber and jewelry.
“Small Works” opens Nov. 30 at Hampton’s Charles H. Taylor Visual Arts Center and will run through Jan. 11, 2025. Admission to the Center is free.
An opening reception for the exhibit will be Dec. 7, 3-5 p.m. For more information, visit the Charles H. Taylor Visual Arts Center online.
