Who Says Art Can't Be Seriously Fun?

When L.A. artist Megan Whitmarsh recreated her entire studio using wood, paint, fabric and embroidery for the Pulse Contemporary Art Fair in 2010, some visitors weren't sure what to make of the fanciful installation. "These elderly collectors came in and said, 'Oh, look, they have a little room for children,'" recalls Whitmarsh. "That sounded like an insult but I'm actually really interested in children and how they navigate the world. I think children and artists share an energy of freedom and an internal sense of play."

Whitmarsh's whimsical replicas, whether studios or trash piles ("Trash Mountain," 2008-2009) constructed out of wire and fabric or "paintings" of rock bands made from embroidery, are emblematic of this relationship between play and rigorousness. "I think there's a sort of fear in certain [art] circles that things aren't serious if they don't look serious," Whitmarsh says. "But I think you can have a sense of play and flexibility and at the same time be deliberate and serious about your work." Combining a craftsy, DIY sensibility with a more high-brow, intellectual quality (think Michel Gondry's elaborate cardboard or fabric sets in The Science of Sleep), her pieces have been shown at art fairs and in galleries all over the world. "I went to school for painting and sculpture, and I started doing embroidery for my paintings because honestly I thought I wasn't a good enough painter. I wanted to find ways to make art that was fresh to me," Whitmarsh says of how she began shaping her aesthetic. "It wasn't a conscious, political decision but more about being super attracted to the materials."