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      Interlocking Lines of Text Spring from Stephen Doyle’s Poetic Book Sculptures

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      Art

      #books
      #language
      #paper
      #sculpture

      July 6, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Stephen Doyle, shared with permission
      Stephen Doyle describes his interconnected book sculptures as “miniature monuments, testaments to the power of language and metaphors of imagination.” Featuring angled scaffolding and interlocking constructions that appear to grow directly from the bound pages, the sprawling sculptural forms that comprise his Hypertexts series are unruly and enchanting reimaginings of how information is communicated.
      The New York City-based artist lobs off parts of sentences, tethers phrases together with an unrelated word, and generally obscures the author’s intended meaning, producing arbitrary and striking connections within the text. Although the paper sculptures are tangible manifestations of language, Doyle tells Colossal that he originally envisioned the spliced works as satirical commentaries on digital diagramming. “I first started when ‘hypertext’ was a novel term of the internet: blue underlined text was a portal, linked to another document in the ether. Linking one text to another seemed rather DADA in intent, abstract, random, and capricious,” he says, explaining further:
      I conjured sculptures in which the lines of text shook off the shackles of the page, leapt up, out of the book, and started conferring with their neighboring lines of text, creating an aerial network of language, turning text into synapse, circulation… I soon realized that these three-dimensional diagrams seemed to have a poetic power of their own, recontextualizing language and ideas into sculptural forms, inspired by the books themselves.
      A graphic designer by day, Doyle has spent the last few years expanding his Hypertexts series, which has been featured in The New Yorker, Wired, The Atlantic, The New Republic, and other publications. If you’re in New York City, you also might have seen the triptych he created for the subway a few years back. You can follow his works on Instagram. (via swissmiss)

      #books
      #language
      #paper
      #sculpture

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    • 188 Shares179 Views

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      Moonlit Forests, Fish, and Branches Populate Kirie Silhouettes Cut from a Single Sheet of Paper

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      Art

      #nature
      #paper
      #portraits
      #silhouettes

      April 20, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Kanako Abe, shared with permission
      From a single sheet of white paper, Kanako Abe (previously) carves exquisite silhouettes of children and young adults who are awash in seas of fish or occupied by quiet campouts. She utilizes the traditional Japanese art form called Kirie—which translates to cut picture—a technique that Abe begins with a sketch before slicing the delicate material with a variety of knives. “I don’t have a chance to change the design once I start cutting, so I find it challenging,” the Seattle-based artist says. “I have to think of the right patterns, controlling negative space, and make sure all the lines are connected so the art won’t fall apart once it’s finished.” A single piece can take anywhere from six to 60 hours to complete.
      Abe shifted to full-time in 2020 and now balances her practice between commissions and ongoing personal projects, a few of which she’ll be sharing soon on Instagram. No matter the context, each artwork reflects a broader connection to nature and its ability to provide an escape from the complications and heartbreak of the current moment. “I find the process of art-making is a way for me to meditate on everyday thoughts and emotions, and it’s much easier for me to express complex feelings or emotions visually than verbally,” she tells Colossal. “The cycle of nature teaches us about the power of letting go or accept things as they are and that there’s a silver lining in everything.”
      If you’re in San Francisco, you can see Abe’s intricate portraits at her September solo show at Rare Device. She’ll also be included in a group exhibition at Today’s Gallery in Ehime, Japan, which opens in December.

      #nature
      #paper
      #portraits
      #silhouettes

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    • 163 Shares189 Views

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      Hundreds of Minuscule Paper Cranes Perch in Bonsai Trees in Naoki Onogawa’s Sculptures

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      Art
      Craft

      #miniature
      #origami
      #paper
      #sculpture
      #trees

      April 5, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Naoki Onogawa, shared with permission
      Using just his hands, Tokyo-based artist Naoki Onogawa folds scores of origami cranes with wingspans that never top a single centimeter. He then fastens the minuscule birds to asymmetric tree forms, creating bonsai-like sculptures engulfed by hundreds of the monochromatic paper creatures.
      Onogawa tells Colossal that he began crafting the tiny birds following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake that devastated parts of southern Hokkaido and Tohoku, which the artist visited the next year. As he walked around the city of Rikuzen Takata, he spotted 1,000 paper cranes at the site of a school demolished by the tsunami. “I found myself in terror of how powerless we humans are in the face of nature’s wonder; yet at the same time, I felt empowered by the power of life, vitality, that shined so brightly in the aftermath of its wrath,” Onogawa says. He explains further:
      It was like witnessing the result of a desolate ritual where people channeled their unsettled feelings into these cranes. And here they exist, spirited with prayers that they would go back and forward to and from a world beyond here. I struggle to find the words to describe it, but I think that maybe the cranes that I fold now come from that place of solemn prayer.
      Onogawa’s cranes are on view at the Setouchi City Museum of Art alongside Motoi Yamamoto’s sprawling salt installation through May 5. Browse available artworks on Picaresque, and explore a larger collection of his pieces on Instagram. (via designboom)

      #miniature
      #origami
      #paper
      #sculpture
      #trees

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      A New Book Highlights an Eclectic Collection of Paper Works by 24 Artists Defining the Medium

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      Art
      Craft

      #books
      #paper

      March 31, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      JUDiTH+ROLFE. All images courtesy of Gingko Press, shared with permission
      A celebration of contemporary paper art, a new book gathers a wide-ranging collection of collages, quilled portraits, and intricately cut landscapes from 24 artists and studios around the globe. Published by Gingko Press, Paperists: Infinite Possibilities in Paper Art spans 256 pages that explore the unexpected ways the medium is used today and features work from a slew of artists featured on Colossal, including Estudio Guardabosques (previously), Makerie Studio (previously), Yulia Brodskaya (previously), and Zim & Zou (previously), to name a few. Grab a copy of the forthcoming volume on Bookshop.

      Pippa Dyrlaga

      Left: Pippa Dyrlaga. Right: Ale Rambar
      Zim & Zou
      Left: Diana Beltran Herrera. Right: Sam Pierpoint
      Zim & Zou
      Hazel Glass

      #books
      #paper

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    • 175 Shares199 Views

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      Evoking Fire and Air, Intricate Paper Masks by Artist Patrick Cabral Honor Filipino Culture

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      Art

      #festivals
      #masks
      #paper
      #Philippines
      #sculpture

      March 15, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      Detail of “Lupa.” All images © Patrick Cabral, shared with permission
      Encircled by oversized crowns of paper, two new masks by Patrick Cabral celebrate Filipino culture through elaborately fashioned works defined by their colors. Titled Mananayaw ng Langit at Lupa, or Dancers of Heaven and Earth, the ongoing series was commissioned by the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art for the Dinagyang Festival. The cultural celebration is held annually the last week in January with the Ati Tribe competition, which involves warrior dancers performing to loud chants and drum beats, as the main event.
      Preserving the tradition in paper, Cabral’s masks both mimic the performers’ costumes and draw on the detail and intricacy of his earlier animal figures. “Lupa” is brilliantly colored and embodies the passionate spirits of a dragon or crocodile, representing Earth, fire, and light. “Langit,” on the other hand, is more subdued with bird-like features, peacock feathers, and a quiet expression. It symbolizes air, flight, horizons, and dreams. “Both animals are important because birds are used in ancient sea navigation, which our ancestors are known for, and the crocodile is the biggest animal native to the Philippines…I want one to look calm and the other chaotic. One is a feather. One is fire,” the Manila-based artist says.
      Cabral currently is working on an exhibit for the Philippine Pavillion at the World Expo that shares the “courage of our ancestors, the people who brave the angry ocean from Taiwan to the Batanes Islands.” Follow that project and explore a larger collection of the artist’s painstakingly constructed works on Behance and Instagram.

      “Langit”

      “Lupa”
      Detail of “Langit”
      Detail of “Lupa”
      Cabral with “Langit”

      #festivals
      #masks
      #paper
      #Philippines
      #sculpture

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      Six Quirky Houseplants Made from Collaged Photos Spring from a Pop-Up Book by Daniel Gordon

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      Art
      Photography

      #books
      #collage
      #fruit
      #paper
      #plants
      #pop-ups
      #sculpture

      March 9, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      From Daniel Gordon: Houseplants (Aperture, 2020). All images © Daniel Gordon/Aperture, photographs and video by Black&Steil/Aperture
      Say goodbye to the days of buying succulents only to watch them wilt and shrivel. Just flip open a pop-up book by photographer Daniel Gordon, and find a collection of forever-perky shrubs and greenery sprouting from the pages.
      Published by Aperture, Houseplants features quirky still lifes of potted vegetation and fruit that Gordon developed using photographs found online, a process that’s central to his overall practice. The obviously constructed forms, which were created by self-described paper engineer Simon Arizpe, juxtapose the realistic nature of the plants with saturated colors and unusual depth, resulting in scenes that are distinctly informed by the internet and the melding of digital and analog techniques. “The seamlessness of the ether is boring to me, but the materialization of that ether, I think, can be very interesting,” Gordon says in a statement.
      To add the sculptural greens to your collection, pick up a copy of Houseplants from Aperture or Bookshop, and explore more of the Brooklyn-based photographer’s vibrant, collaged projects on his site and Instagram. (via Juxtapoz)

      #books
      #collage
      #fruit
      #paper
      #plants
      #pop-ups
      #sculpture

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    • 138 Shares129 Views

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      Intricate Paper Animals Spring from Textured Sculptures by Artist Calvin Nicholls

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      Art
      Craft

      #animals
      #birds
      #paper
      #sculpture

      March 1, 2021
      Anna Marks

      All images © Calvin Nicholls, shared with permission
      In Calvin Nicholls’s sculptural forms, feathered and furry creatures are meticulously crafted from small pieces of white paper. When viewed up-close, their texture resembles the fullness of a wintery landscape, but in full form, the Canadian artist’s animals are so vivid that they appear as though they could leap, fly, and spring out of the canvas. Nicholls (previously) seamlessly examines and sculpts every detail of an animal’s body, from the difference in plume texture in doves to the strained muscles of a giraffe to the intoxicating stare of a tiger stalking its prey.  
      Every work is crafted from archival cotton paper that prevents yellowing and fading. Nicholls uses minuscule amounts of glue to secure the individual pieces, employing knives and texturing tools to precisely sculpt each delicate part. For the artist, crafting fur and feathers are equally challenging, and how long a piece will take is difficult to predict. He shares:
      The largest sculptures I’ve done require several hundreds of hours while the more modest pieces keep me busy for two or more weeks. Familiarity with the subject is a big factor as well. My love of birds often propels me through pieces much faster than when sculpting subjects with (an) emphasis on musculature and structure.
      Nicholls’s fascination with paper as a medium stems from graphic design classes in college, in addition to later collaborations with a colleague. These experiences further forged his interest in experimenting with various materials and papers that he had become familiar with through the graphics trade.
      Follow additions to Nicholls’s monochromatic menagerie on Behance and Instagram, and see the originals and prints he has available in his shop.

      #animals
      #birds
      #paper
      #sculpture

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      Countless Paper Seeds Comprise the Fluctuating Landscapes in Ilhwa Kim’s Sculptural Works

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      Art

      #abstract
      #paper
      #sculpture

      February 24, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Space Sample 36” (2020), 164 x 132 x 15 centimeters. All images © Ilhwa Kim, shared with permission
      In Ilhwa Kim’s sculptural landscapes, innumerable paper seeds form precise rows, indented pockets of densely packed folds, and multi-color valleys that wind through the feet-wide works. The South Korean artist arranges individual units of the rolled material in a staggered manner, meaning that the color, shadow, and texture of the final pieces shift with each viewing. “I am probably a sculptor of senses. I have been very curious how my senses are being organized when I perceive a thing or a location. The order, priority, and the way of being assembled together surprise me. How the senses reunited keeps evolving from initial contact to temporary goodbye,” she says, noting that change and perception play a central role in her practice.
      Each composition begins with blank, white paper that Kim dyes and rolls into tight tubes that can be sliced only with heavy machinery. She forgoes gluing any of the seeds prior until the entire piece is complete. “This working process gives big freedom to make meaningful changes even when very close to the final stage,” the artist shares. “That is how a child plays, as well.” The comprehensive process transforms the original material into durable units that resemble the organic lifeform and ultimately grow into larger sculptures.
      Based in Seoul, Kim has a solo show slated for September 2021 at HOFA Gallery in London, and you can see a larger collection of her works, including shots of pieces-in-progress, on Instagram. (via Cross Connect Magazine)

      Detail of “Space Station Sample” (2016), 192 x 334 x 12 centimeters
      “Space Station Sample” (2016), 192 x 334 x 12 centimeters
      Detail of “Space Sample 36” (2020), 164 x 132 x 15 centimeters
      “Seed Universe 108” (2019), 184 x 152 x 15 centimeters. Image via HOFA
      “White Portrait” (2019), 184 x 152 x 15 centimeters
      “Space Sample 30” (2019), 119 x 186 x 15 centimeters
      “Seed School 3” (2019), 114 x 234 x 13 centimeters
      Left: “Seed School 7” (2020), 114  x 234 x 13 centimeters. Right: “Seed universe 83” (2018), 184 x 132 x 15 centimeters
      Detail of “Space Station 5” (2019), 192 x 224 x 15 centimeters
      “Space Sample 45” (2020), 184 x 152 15 centimeters

      #abstract
      #paper
      #sculpture

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