Micah Adams: Made to Fit Together

April 1 – May 11, 2025
Opening Reception: Sunday, April 13, 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Glenhyrst Art Gallery, Brantford

Curated by Matthew Ryan Smith

Micah Adams, Caribou / Kangarloo, 2023, hand-cut coins. Image courtesy of the artist.

Artist Micah Adams creates art you’ll want to keep in your pocket. These “pocket sculptures” or “fictional keepsakes,” as he calls them, are intended for private use and reflection. They are intimate objects that invite you to slow down and engage with them. There is a warmth to his work, a kind of sentimental feeling, much like the attachment one feels toward a beloved memento. As a child, Adams was fascinated by Lego and its puzzle-like properties. Some of that fascination has carried over into his current art practice. Through a combination of critical play, free thinking, and daydreaming, he explores how vastly different objects and materials can come together to create unexpected meanings and associations. This often involves the clever and precise manipulation of coins, metals, wood, banknotes, and other materials, using modern tools such as a micro-welder. He also employs ballpoint pens or coloured pencils on paper to illustrate different world currencies and found objects, reimagined to coexist in absurd and humorous ways. Installed in the studio or gallery, his work is meant to be discovered by accident, inducing a pleasant surprise—much like finding a coin on the sidewalk. With works placed in unconventional locations or hidden in plain sight throughout Glenhyrst, Adams has transformed the gallery into a site of wonder, surprise, and anticipation.

About the Artist
Micah Adams is a Toronto-based artist, metalsmith, and collector of objects. He studied at CÉGEP John Abbott College in Montréal and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Adams has been an Artist-in-Residence at Harbourfront Centre’s Metal/Jewellery Studio (2008–2011) and has participated in visiting artist programs at Open Studio (Toronto, ON), the Museum of Glass (Tacoma, WA), the Klondike Institute of Art and Culture (Dawson City, YT), and Gros Morne National Park (Woody Point, NL). His work is featured in private and corporate collections worldwide, including those of Fidelity Investments, TD Bank, Scotiabank, and Microsoft Corporation. Adams is represented by MKG127 in Toronto and L.A. Pai Gallery in Ottawa.

Instagram: @micahadams.ca

Acknowledgements
Glenhyrst Art Gallery acknowledges that we are on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnaabe, and Haudenosaunee Peoples. This land is part of the Dish with One Spoon Treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe peoples and symbolises the agreement to share, protect our resources, and not to engage in conflict. The City of Brantford is situated on the Haldimand Tract, land promised to Six Nations, which includes six miles on each side of the Grand River.

Accessibility
Glenhyrst Art Gallery is fully accessible and includes an elevator and accessible washroom. The main entrance is accessed by a concrete pathway and may be opened with an automatic door opener. For assistance or questions about the gallery, please contact the gallery.

Admission is free, donations are accepted, and everyone is welcome.

Glenhyrst Art Gallery
20 Ava Road
Brantford, ON N3T 5G9
www.glenhyrst.ca
info@glenhyrst.ca
(519) 756-5932

Facebook @glenhyrst
Instagram @glenhyrst