Take a Walk on the Surreal Side

Enter Miles Partington’s world, leaping from miniatures to life-sized beings, from anthropomorphized creatures to surrealist studies, from sculpted self-portraits to painted letters and words.

This is “Where, where is the town,” a debut solo exhibition from the Southampton native, opening with a reception on Saturday, March 3, at Tripoli Gallery in Southampton. The menagerie blurs the line between reality and fantasy, past and present, and human and animal, challenging the definition and understanding of painting and sculpture, according to the gallery.

[caption id="attachment_77144" align="alignleft" width="306"] "Walking Whale" by Miles Partington[/caption]

“‘Where, where is the town’ pieces together a tale of the artist’s thoughts, uniting personal memories with shared earthly histories that span in time from ancient to modern,” according to a press release. “Utilizing a gamut of materials — from plywood, Apoxie Clay, concrete, and cardboard, to cloth, yarn, and other found objects — each work is constructed to articulate and, in the process, discover the moments and impressions that have remained.

“Many of Partington’s sculptures are built in the framework of dioramas, incorporating windows that lead into a miniature yet familiar world. Within these frameworks, Partington records and preserves his subjects — a collection of animals, as well as human characters: a lone bird, a little deer, an aging whale, a timeless shopkeeper, a jousting knight — from which a world emerges, much like a museum of the artist’s life.”

The reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at Tripoli Gallery’s Southampton location, at 30a Jobs Lane, and will remain on view through April 2. For more information, please visit tripoligallery.com.