‘Honeycomb III’ brings 50-plus artists’ small works to the Goat Farm

Pollinator Art Space takes no commission from its yearlyHoneycomb exhibitions. It all goes to the artists. This year, that’s more than 50 regional artists, whose work fills the walls and tables of the Goat Farm gallery’s third annual small works show. “Honeycomb III” opened Nov. 5 and runs through Dec. 11. “We are first and foremost a space run by artists for artists,” said Pollinator Art Space founder Sabre Esler. Esler has been a working artist in Atlanta for more than 30 years. She started The Pollinator to fill a gap she saw. “There are so many wonderful artists in Atlanta that don’t have representation in the Atlanta gallery market,” she said. The gallery’s name is the mission. Pollinator pairs artists at different points in their careers, hosts talks with writers and educators, and keeps growing its collector base. Next year, Esler said, the gallery will partner with SCAD and Georgia Tech on an animation show. How Honeycomb III came together Honeycomb is where all that cross-pollinating happens at once. This year, more than 85 artists applied, the most yet. And, for the first time, the show includes a handful from outside Atlanta. Esler, Pollinator partner and director Sean McCormick and returning guest curator Ramie Little , a past president of Art Papers, sorted through them over a light dinner, alphabetically. Each brought a different eye. McCormick has a background in photography. Little, Esler said, “knows ceramics really well.” The exhibition runs from sequential art to handmade textiles. “The sequential art is so fun and fresh,” Esler said, and the weaving and collage work is “really so well done.” The size limit is part of the point. Working small, Esler said, can push artists to change “their materials, their process, their idea.” That’s the challenge she wants them to take on. “I think artists learn something about themselves when they do that,” she said. An opportunity for collectors Buyers benefit, too. “This time of year buyers are interested in seeing small things,” she said. Esler’s advice for first-time buyers? Look for the piece that gets a reaction. “Does the work make them laugh, or feel something?” she said. Some of the artists are well known, she added, so it’s a chance to own work you couldn’t afford at a larger size — “a small jewel.” Read More: • The Pollinator Art Space in full bloom at The Goat Farm • Goat Farm SITE festival brings one night of experimental art to Atlanta The jewels on offer include work by multidisciplinary artist Rose Barron, who moves among photography, ceramics and paint; ceramic sculptor Krista Grecco, known for hand-built porcelain figures and animals inspired by vintage toys; painter and mixed-media artist Julie Fordham, president of the Tucker Arts Alliance; and Croatian-born poet and translator Andrea Jurjević, who also paints. “Honeycomb III” runs through Dec. 11 at The Pollinator Art Space .  A second opening reception happens Sunday, Nov. 15.