Tim Nies has got to be the only artist in Lancaster discussing quantum physics with zeal.

So when he comes out with something like this gem: "I'm really fascinated by cement," you kind of wonder if he's one of those stupid geniuses who could find the cure for cancer if he could just find his pen.

But Nies, figuratively, has found his pen. The proof is "Worlds Within Worlds," his latest show at Mulberry Art Studios.

And it is long overdue. His last grand show was 15 years ago at Mulberry, followed by a dry spell. A long dry spell. Exit the TV (he dumped the tube nearly a decade ago). Enter quantum physics (without the tube, he had a whole lot of time to read).

"Somewhere along the line, I got completely engulfed with quantum physics," he said, oblivious to the silence on the other end of the line. "You know, the theory of relativity, time and space."

Whatever, dude. The point is, it opened this floodgate of intriguing work that gloriously poured out into Mulberry.

"I haven't made a body of artwork in maybe seven years," he said. "(Quantum physics) made me have a whole clearer view of producing artwork."

It doesn't take an Einstein to be engaged by Nies' fascination with our world, even the parts of it that are too small — or too big — to be seen.

And therein lies the crux of "Worlds Within Worlds." The title piece is a clever, mesmerizing portal to the universe a full six feet across.

"That's one's been on my mind the whole time I've been reading the physics books," he said of the piece. "I wanted to show all in one presentation everything from the universe to the atom. But no matter how I tried to show it in any scale, the atom became too small."

Thanks to Mulberry's giant gallery space, Nies was inspired to think big. The result is the giant four-piece, 20-pound work of canvas and found objects that looks like some crazy invention found in a mad scientist's lab.

While it's this show's centerpiece, it's hardly all there is to Nies.

Nies is an ironic artist if nothing else.

At 17, he was the youngest student ever admitted to Philadelphia's Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He adores fellow Academy graduate Thomas Eakins' classic works. And Nies clearly labored over "Worlds" and other elaborate pieces of his own.

On the other hand, he gives us "Ordinary Trash," (and here's where the irony comes in) which is actually an ordinary bright red trash can labeled "EMPTY EVERY NIGHT" in bright yellow. And, ironically, it wasn't emptied the night Nies came upon it, so the thing is still brimming with old school wall clocks. Only now it's a Tim Nies Original.

"Talent and skill are great things, and years of working in particular mediums can make your hands and eyes do wonderful things," Nies said. "But none of that takes away from instinct. I found that trash can exactly like that and knew I couldn't make something that good. If I didn't have to do anything to show you that brilliance, that means I did a really good job."

About that curious cement fascination — Nies sees beauty in a world where beauty is rare. He waxes poetic about sidewalk cracks, revels in the resplendence of rust. And his artwork brings some excitement to the little things in life.

"I'm pretty fascinated with the world around us," said Nies, 38. "That comes through in my work. Maybe my artwork is my justification for shining something up enough for people to like it. People right now are having a tough time seeing beauty. But I think every one of those tiny things is so drenched in beauty. That's what we should look at."

You might want to look twice at that beauty, though. Nies' day job as a scenic painter at Atomic Design, which creates landscapes for rock shows, television shows and corporate events, has taught him how to create found objects he admits he never actually found.

(That might be a good thing. It's at once a relief and an ironic twist that the unidentifiable decaying rodent in his "At Least One" is actually some body filler and paint.)

Expect more from Nies, whose immediate world is at home in Pequea with his wife, Kristie, and 9-year-old son, Simon. Right now, he's breathing in air and pushing out art in rapid succession.

"You never know, I might go through a dry spell and not be able to make anything," Nies said. "You've got to breathe deeply when you feel it. This is real and this is now, so I'm making as many pieces as I can."

"Tim Nies: Worlds Within Worlds," through April, Mulberry Art Studios, 19-21 N. Mulberry St., gallery hours Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 295-1949.

E-mail: slindt@lnpnews.com