{"id":190415,"date":"2025-06-17T01:25:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T01:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/190415\/"},"modified":"2025-06-17T01:25:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T01:25:16","slug":"josh-dihle-toys-with-reality-in-his-topographic-paintings-akin-to-fever-dreams-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/190415\/","title":{"rendered":"Josh Dihle Toys with Reality in His Topographic Paintings Akin to Fever Dreams \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe model railroader is the truest creator: engineer, architect, and master of his own timetable,\u201d reads a statement about Josh Dihle<\/a>\u2019s feverish exhibition, Basement Arrangement.<\/p>\n

Armed with hundreds of minuscule objects from coral to LEGO, Dihle concocts dreamlike worlds in which figures become topographies and every cavity houses a surprising detail. Peek inside the cheek of \u201cMoreau\/Detrick Reliquary,\u201d and find a wooly mammoth with lustrous stones embedded in its wooden tusks. \u201cConfluence\u201d is similar as carved fish jut out of the foam-and-plaster ground alongside trees and palms with widespread fingers. <\/p>\n

\"aDetail of \u201cConfluence\u201d (2025), oil, acrylic, colored pencil, resin, fossils, rocks, LEGO, marbles, beach glass, plastic toys, coral, paper pulp, plaster gauze, foam, cherry, and carved walnut on panel, 57 x 45 x 19 inches<\/p>\n

Evoking model railroads and dollhouses, Dihle\u2019s sculptural paintings incorporate recognizable objects but with an uncanny, if not skewed, perspective. Stretching nearly five feet tall, the large-scale works hang on the wall and draw a contrast between the overall composition, viewed straight on, and the miniature vignettes best taken in at a 90-degree angle. Step back and see an aerial landscape with hills shaped like lips or a sunken nose, while close-up inspection becomes a dizzying hunt for unlikely items tucked into every crevice.<\/p>\n

The exhibition title originates with hermit hobbyists, who seem to come alive when cloistered in worlds of their own making. What appears to outsiders as an escape from reality is, for them, an attempt to organize the chaos and take control, even if in the form of toys and make-believe.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in Chicago, see Basement Arrangement at Andrew Rafacz<\/a> through July 18. Find more from Dihle on his website.<\/p>\n

\"aDetail of \u201cConfluence\u201d (2025), oil, acrylic, colored pencil, resin, fossils, rocks, LEGO, marbles, beach glass, plastic toys, coral, paper pulp, plaster gauze, foam, cherry, and carved walnut on panel, 57 x 45 x 19 inches<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cMoreau\/Detrick Reliquary\u201d (2024), walnut, paper pulp, plaster, foam, faux fur, found objects, acrylic, and oil on panel, 40.25 x 31 x 13 inches<\/p>\n

\"aDetail of \u201cMoreau\/Detrick Reliquary\u201d (2024), walnut, paper pulp, plaster, foam, faux fur, found objects, acrylic, and oil on panel, 40.25 x 31 x 13 inches<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cBrittle Star\u201d (2025), oil, acrylic, casein, colored pencil, Legos, fossils, rocks, plastic toys, marbles, mosaic tile, buttons, carved walnut, paper pulp, plaster gauze, foam, and plywood on panel, 47 x 21 inches<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cConfluence\u201d (2025), oil, acrylic, colored pencil, resin, fossils, rocks, LEGO, marbles, beach glass, plastic toys, coral, paper pulp, plaster gauze, foam, cherry, and carved walnut on panel, 57 x 45 x 19 inches<\/p>\n

\"pink\u201cSighting\u201d (2025), casein, colored pencil, rocks, fossils, eyeball agate, agate, amber, found objects, plastic toys, mosaic tile, marbles, LEGO, beads, thumb tacks, and beach glass on carved basswood, 18 x 14 x 1.5 inches<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cFalls\u201d (2025), acrylic, turquoise, meteorite, fossil, marble, rocks, plastic toy, paper pulp, plaster gauze, twine, maple, and foam on panel, 42 x 32.5 x 11 inches<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cRadon\u201d (2025), casein, acrylic, resin, turquoise, rocks, LEGO, found jewelry, plastic Micro Machine, fossil, beach glass, and walnut on panel, 13.25 x 10.25 x 1.25 inches<\/p>\n

\"aDetail of \u201cRadon\u201d (2025), casein, acrylic, resin, turquoise, rocks, LEGO, found jewelry, plastic Micro Machine, fossil, beach glass, and walnut on panel, 13.25 x 10.25 x 1.25 inches<\/p>\n

\"anInstallation view of \u2018Basement Arrangement\u2019<\/p>\n

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