Since 2000, New York-based painter and sculptor Joe Fig has recreated with mind-boggling detail the spaces where artists—including names as big as Jackson Pollock and Barnett Newman—create their masterpieces. He does it all as startlingly life-like miniatures, hand-crafting every oozing paint can, splattered ladder, and cheap folding table until it all comes together in way that rivals even the world's most staggeringly tiny interiors—yes, perhaps even beating out even the photorealistic pieces built inside TVs.
Before he begins on the actual building, Fig usually visits each artist personally, asking questions, taking lots of photos, and measuring dozens of details for scale. He tells Co.Design:
"The artwork was not the main focus of discussion. I was interested in everything else: the making of the artwork, his creative process, the studio setup, his daily routine, and in particular his painting table. I photographed everything. At best I hoped I might be inspired to make a sculpture or painting based on my visit."
