FRANCES SHEEHY:
BEEF FRIDGE
June 4-8, 2026
AUTOMATA welcomes artist Frances Sheehy with her exhibition Beef Fridge, a collection of miniature sculptures that recreate common utilitarian objects at a tiny scale. By recreating these mundane objects in miniature scale and removing them from their contexts, Sheehy renders the objects more significant, yet unusable.
The show’s title Beef Fridge refers to a fridge that Sheehy saw in the basement of a fancy steak bar where she used to work. “This exhibition acts as a similar display for small scenes and objects”, states Sheehy. “What connects these miniatures to one another is somewhat vague, almost like the way that the “choice cuts” in the beef fridge were distinct, yet from a similar origin.”
The miniatures in Beef Fridge, made from recycled materials, paper, and clay, refer to images from Sheehy’s family archives, cinema, art history or her phone’s camera roll. This gathering of tiny sculptures is displayed on equally mundane structures, including sawhorses, cardboard boxes, and display objects used for carpentry, moving or production. Some of these displays are meant to deceive, disguised as a material they are not, and some displays remain openly what they are.
Seen together, Sheehy’s miniature objects create a world that one cannot fit into, only look at, like the cold wagyu steaks behind glass for someone else to enjoy.
Gallery Hours: June 4-8, 2026 11 AM - 6 PM daily
Reception: Friday, June 5, 2026 6-9 PM
FROM THE ARTIST:
The process of building miniatures is obsessive and joyful. This is mirrored in how people look at the sculptures —my favorite part of showing them to others. Making things from start to end is crucial to me in everything I do. For example, I’ll never buy panels to paint on, I’ll make them. This is because I love making things and I always have. I made miniatures as a kid to play with in my dollhouse, making food or furniture I couldn't buy at the store. The process now is the same as it was then; returning to minis at 22 allows me to explore different subjects in this familiar yet challenging way of creating.
About the Artist
Frances Sheehy was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She recently graduated with a BFA from the School of Art from the California Institute of the Arts. Her artistic practice is in oil painting, carpentry and miniature sculpture.