Toddlerpillar History
Jon Beinart stumbled upon his Toddlerpillar series by accident while messing around with plastic baby dolls. In 2002 he joined a few doll torsos together and noticed (to his delight) that they formed insect-like segments, and voila, the infamous Toddlerpillar was born.
Jon found his creations adorable and hilarious and was initially surprised when people were offended and even shocked by them. As his Toddlerpillars have spread all over the Internet, they have elicited strong reactions, both positive and negative.
Jon Beinart with the Mother of all Toddlerpillars (2009)
In 2002 he exhibited his first Toddlerpillar sculpture in a group exhibition at the Albury Regional Art Gallery called Boys Room. This was the first of a series that became his most widely known body of work: during this period photos of his Toddlerpillars frequently went viral on the Internet. They were widely published in art books and magazines and were exhibited in a number of gallery & museum shows.
In 2011 Jon moved on from this series of sculptures to focus on his oil paintings and in 2016 he opened Beinart Gallery in Melbourne Australia.
This project marks Jon’s return to one of his earliest artistic creations, the Toddlerpillars, in a partnership with the incredible artist and award winning graphic novelist, Tim Molloy.
