{"id":1670,"date":"2025-08-05T11:20:38","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T18:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=1670"},"modified":"2025-08-05T11:20:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T18:20:38","slug":"in-little-italy-dina-brodsky-and-lorraine-loots-collaborate-on-a-tiny-scale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=1670","title":{"rendered":"In \u2018Little Italy,\u2019 Dina Brodsky and Lorraine Loots Collaborate on a Tiny Scale"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"In<\/p>\n

From Manhattan to San Diego to Cleveland, neighborhoods known for their Italian-American populations have endearingly been called Little Italy, where facets of the Mediterranean nation\u2019s culture and cuisine are preserved and celebrated. For artists Lorraine Loots<\/a> and Dina Brodsky<\/a>, who both create work on a very small scale, a trip to Italy and a collaborative body of work proved to be a wonderful way to explore this theme quite literally.<\/p>\n

Little Italy<\/em>, Brodsky and Loots\u2019 duo exhibition on view now at Paradigm Gallery + Studio<\/a>, chronicles the artists\u2019 trip to the country through itty bitty paintings. Loots works in watercolor, while Brodsky composes in oil, and each draws upon the landscapes, architecture, food, and cultural icons\u2014think Vespas, pizza, spritzes, and the Colosseum\u2014that we associate with La Dolce Vita. Framed, Loots\u2019 works are only five inches across, while Brodsky\u2019s tiny tondos encapsulate vast landscapes within a three-inch diameter surface.<\/p>\n

\"a
Dina Brodsky, \u201cFlorence, Ponte Vecchio\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brodsky and Loots\u2014based in Massachusetts and South Africa, respectively\u2014first connected during the pandemic, inspired by each other\u2019s interest in working in a tiny format. During the trip, they each experienced the place through their unique lens, tapping into memories and associations. Brodsky, who was born in Belarus and whose family traveled as refugees from the Soviet Union to the U.S. in the 1980s, spent a brief period in Italy during this relocation. The nation\u2019s bucolic countryside and ancient architecture stuck with her over time.<\/p>\n

Loots was long fascinated by Italy\u2019s architectural and cultural heritage, and during the trip, she wandered the cobbled streets and plazas with two heirloom film cameras, snapping photos which she then developed once she returned home and used as reference for tiny watercolor paintings.<\/p>\n

In Little Italy, <\/em>some of Loots\u2019 photographs, along with some of Brodsky\u2019s sketchbooks, illustrate the two artists\u2019 approaches to recording their experiences. The exhibition continues through August 24 in Philadelphia, and you can find more on the gallery\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a
Lorraine Loots, \u201cVespa\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Dina Brodsky, \u201cBagnoregio\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Lorraine Loots, \u201cBialetti\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Dina Brodsky, \u201cRome, Golden Hour\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Lorraine Loots, \u201cFontana di Trevi\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Dina Brodsky, \u201cOrvieto, Dawn\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Lorraine Loots, \u201cColosseo\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Dina Brodsky, \u201cSiena, Dawn\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article In \u2018Little Italy,\u2019 Dina Brodsky and Lorraine Loots Collaborate on a Tiny Scale<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Manhattan to San Diego to Cleveland, neighborhoods known for their Italian-American populations have endearingly been called Little Italy, where facets of the Mediterranean nation\u2019s culture and cuisine are preserved…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1670\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}