Small Wonders: A Look at Artists’ Studios in Miniature

By Cynthia Close and Robert K. Carsten

Few artists have examined the inner workings of artistic practice as closely and imaginatively as Joe Fig. The contemporary artist, educator and author is known for work that explores the creative process and the spaces where art is made. 

Fig’s series of miniature 3D mixed-media works, made between 2000 and 2019, meticulously recreates scenes of famous artists such as Willem de Kooning (Dutch-American, 1904–97) and Jackson Pollock (American, 1912–56) in their studios. These pieces provide a glimpse of each artist, as well as the artist’s tools, materials and other significant objects—and portions of the physical workspace—that offer greater insight into the creative process. Fig lavishes attention on every detail to make his Lilliputian scenes as lifelike as possible. “With the miniaturization, the viewer is forced to come close, and I like that,” he says.  

Fig believes art grows out of careful attention to ideas and the creative process. As part of his own practice, he spent years interviewing fellow artists, asking them detailed questions about their daily routines, studio habits, tools, challenges—the practical realities of building a life in art. Through these conversations, he sought to better understand not just how art is made, but what it truly means to be an artist day to day. 

“An important issue is the idea of contemplation in the studio,” Fig says, and so he aimed to capture artists in moments of action as well as moments of reflection. “For me, it’s in this moment of quiet contemplation when an artist is looking—when it appears as though they’re doing the least amount of work—that they’re actually working their hardest.”

For more information about Fig’s small studio works, check out this Q&A HERE. 

To learn more about Fig’s newest “Contemplation” series, which depicts museum-goers absorbed in masterworks set within the quiet interiors of museums and galleries, see the July/August 2026 issue of Artists Magazine.

About the Artist

Joe Fig, who holds a BFA and MFA from the School of Visual Arts, in New York City, is the author of the critically acclaimed Inside the Painter’s Studio and Inside the Artist’s Studio (Princeton Architectural Press). Fig’s work is in numerous museums and leading private collections, including JPMorganChase; Chazen Museum of Art; Parrish Art Museum; Norton Museum of Art; New Museum; and the Toledo Museum of Art. His paintings have been featured in The New York Times, Artforum, Art in America, ARTnews and Modern Painters, among others. His work is exhibited nationally and internationally, with more than 30 solo and 50 group exhibitions, and is represented by Cristin Tierney Gallery, in New York City.