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      Katsumi Hayakawa’s Congested Cities Are Constructed with Scrupulously Cut Paper Buildings

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      Art

      #architecture
      #city
      #electronics
      #paper
      #sculpture
      #technology

      August 21, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Bonsai City” (2014), paper, inkjet printing, fake grass, acrylic elements, 8 x 118 x 21 1/2 inches. All images © Katsumi Hayakawa, courtesy of the artist and McClain Gallery, shared with permission
      Meticulously cutting each piece by hand, Katsumi Hayakawa crafts dense cityscapes and urban districts from white paper. The Japanese artist assembles towers and various cube-like structures that are positioned in lengthy rows, resembling congested streets. Dotted with primary colors and metallic elements, the sculptures evoke electronic equipment like microchips and motherboards, which references the relationship between modern cities and technology. Hayakawa’s use of an ephemeral, organic material further contrasts the manufactured nature of both urban areas and technological inventions.
      To explore more of the artist’s projects that are concerned with the complexity of modern life, head to Artsy.

      “Fata Morgana” (2014), paper, inkjet printing, glitter, 25 1/2 x 119 1/2 x 51 1/2 inches
      “Bonsai City” (2014), paper, inkjet printing, fake grass, acrylic elements, 8 x 118 x 21 1/2 inches
      “Bonsai City” (2014), paper, inkjet printing, fake grass, acrylic elements, 8 x 118 x 21 1/2 inches
      “Intersection” (2017), watercolor paper and mixed media, 29 7/16 x 59 1/16 x 5 1/2 inches
      “Intersection” (2017), watercolor paper and mixed media, 29 7/16 x 59 1/16 x 5 1/2 inches
      “Fata Morgana” (2014), paper, inkjet printing, glitter, 25 1/2 x 119 1/2 x 51 1/2 inches
      “See from the side 3” (2014), paper, wood, acrylic reflective sheet, acrylic mirror with blue film, 8 3/4 x 50 1/4 x 11 inches

      #architecture
      #city
      #electronics
      #paper
      #sculpture
      #technology

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    • 175 Shares109 Views

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      Masks, Toilet Paper, and Thermometers Transform into Miniature, Outdoor Adventures by Artist Tatsuya Tanaka

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      Art
      Photography

      #COVID-19
      #masks
      #miniature
      #paper
      #sports
      #swimming

      August 3, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Tatsuya Tanaka, shared with permission
      In the time of COVID-19, disposable face masks, toilet paper, and other essentials are synonymous with safety, precaution, and staying indoors. But in Tatsuya Tanaka’s ongoing Miniature Calendar series, the everyday items are subverted to create the tiny sets of outdoor adventures. A folded mask serves as a small tent, toilet paper descends from a wall holder as a snowy ski hill, and a thermometer outfitted with wheels transforms into a speedy racecar. For more of the miniature scenes from the Japanese artist and photographer (previously), head to Instagram, where he publishes a new piece daily. (via Lustik)

      #COVID-19
      #masks
      #miniature
      #paper
      #sports
      #swimming

      Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

       
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    • 163 Shares159 Views

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      Myriad Layers of Intricately Cut Paper Construct Architectural Sculptures by Artist Michael Velliquette

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      Art
      Craft

      #architecture
      #paper
      #sculpture

      July 30, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “My looking ripens things and they come toward me, to meet and be met” (2020), paper sculpture, 12 x 12 x 6 inches. All images © Michael Velliquette by Jim Escalante, shared with permission
      Despite being built with a pliable, degradable material, Michael Velliquette’s paper sculptures exude strength and durability. Densley layered walls fortify the borders of his architectural works, and three-dimensional elements evoke mechanical gadgets like gears and other hardware. The incredibly intricate structures also have more delicate features, like the tiny dots and curved flourishes decorating the small pieces.
      Based in Madison, Wisconsin, the artist hand-cuts each shape with straight-edge scissors or an Exacto knife, utilizing templates, mechanical punches, rulers, and compasses. Requiring between 300 and 500 hours to complete, each monochromatic sculpture begins at the center, and Velliquette expands outward. He shares with Colossal that he “aspire(s) for balance and symmetry in the overall design, but they are not perfectly symmetrical.” Acid-free PVA glue and hot adhesives hold the layers together.
      Velliquette first started utilizing the accessible material as a way to model larger installations before it quickly became central to his practice. “Paper comes in endless forms. It can be used in multiple dimensions. It is easy to handle and manipulate, and it is available anywhere. It is inherently ephemeral, but given the right conditions, it can last for centuries,” he says.
      The work I am now creating is non-pictorial, non-objective, and non-representational in nature. The perspective of these pieces is left intentionally ambiguous: they can be read hung on the wall like bas-relief sculptures or mounted horizontally like architectural studies. There are new issues around engineering and construction that I have had to tackle as my work has evolved in this direction. The broad aim of this investigation is to use three-dimensional structure and intricate detailing to push the boundaries of paper art literally into a new dimension.
      The artist’s work will be on view at David Shelton Gallery in Houston this fall, and he is a 2021 resident at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Until then, follow Velliquette on Instagram for glimpses into his process and studio and to follow his upcoming projects. (via Dovetail)

      “The love that would soak down into the center of being” (2020), paper sculpture, 20 x 20 x 8 inches
      “Let your hand rest on the rim of heaven” (2019), paper sculpture, 20 x 20 x 6 inches
      Left: “Our newly awakened powers cry out for unlimited fulfillment” (2020), paper sculpture, 30 x 8 x 8 inches. Right: “All seeming things shine with the light of pure knowledge” (2019), paper sculpture, 18 x 8 x 8 inches
      “Let your hand rest on the rim of heaven” (2019), paper sculpture, 20 x 20 x 6 inches
      Left: “Then the knowing comes: I can open to another life that’s wide and timeless” (2017), paper sculpture25 x 25 x 5 inches. Right: “Then in one vast thousandfold thought I could think you up to where thinking ends” (2017), paper sculpture, 20 x 20 x 6 inches
      “My looking ripens things and they come toward me, to meet and be met” (2020), paper sculpture, 12 x 12 x 6 inches
      “When awareness encounters eternity it creates time” (2018), paper sculpture, 12 x 12 x 6 inches

      #architecture
      #paper
      #sculpture

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    • 163 Shares179 Views

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      Paper Wildlife Sculptures by Artist Diana Beltrán Herrera Document Nature’s Most Striking Details

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      Art
      Design
      Illustration

      #birds
      #butterflies
      #paper
      #sculpture

      July 28, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Diana Beltrán Herrera, shared with permission
      In 2012, Bristol-based artist Diana Beltrán Herrera (previously) began sculpting impeccably layered paper birds and other wildlife as a way to record her surroundings. Her lifelike pieces continuously have captured nature’s finely detailed and minuscule elements, like the fibrous texture of feathers and the veins running through leaves.
      Today, the artist has expanded the practice to include exotic species and environments she’s never seen up close, developing her paper techniques to express the more nuanced details of the shapes and textures she studies in biology books. Now focusing on the structural elements of fungi, fruit, and florals, Beltrán Herrera shares with Colossal:
      Paper as a medium for documentation allows me to register and create notions and ideas of subjects that I have not experienced in real life but that I can experience when a sculpture is completed. I like this approach because it is not harmful, and through my work, I can show and tell my viewers about the things I have been learning, of the importance of nature just by researching and making it myself.
      Much of her work centers on conservation efforts and environmental justice. For example, a recent commission by Greenpeace UK bolstered the organization’s Plastic Free Rivers campaign. ” I am constantly looking for more subjects that are relevant to the times we are living in, so that through my work I can communicate important information that can educate or just make things more visible. The approach is very (graphic) and visual, which helps to deliver a message,” she says.
      Beltrán Herrera’s upcoming projects include a commission for a coral sculpture, in addition to plans to launch a studio with her brother by the end of 2020. Her hope is to merge graphic and digital design with her paper pieces, potentially adding in animation, as well. Ultimately, her goal is to dive into larger projects. “I don’t see my work as something I want to know how to make and stay safe, but as a challenge, that will always allow me to wonder how to execute and create things that were never made with paper,” she says.
      To see more of Beltrán Herrera’s creative process and follow her future pieces, head to Behance and Instagram.

      #birds
      #butterflies
      #paper
      #sculpture

      Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

       
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    • 163 Shares179 Views

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      Hundreds of Intricately Cut Layers Compose Impeccably Detailed Wildlife Sculptures by Patrick Cabral

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       All images © Patrick Cabral Manila-based artist Patrick Cabral (previously) layers paper incised with decorative motifs and lacy patterns into dazzling sculptural portraits of wildlife. Ribbed tentacles with alternating gold and white dangle from an octopus, while elegant pieces comprise a rhinoceros’s exterior. Each multi-layered work contains hundreds of individual paper pieces that are […] More

    • 125 Shares119 Views

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      Textured Paper Sculptures by Zai Divecha Emphasize Shadow and Light

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       “Draco” (2019), paper, wood, LEDs, 40 x 72 x 3 inches. All images © Zai Divecha San Francisco-based artist Zai Divecha fashions countless pleats, creases, and flaps for her monochromatic paper sculptures. From geometric tessellations to flat sheets with dozens of rounded cuts and points, Divecha’s pieces accentuate the relationships between light and shadow and […] More

    • 150 Shares139 Views

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      168,000 Numbers Suspended From the Ceiling in Color-Coded Installation by Emmanuelle Moureaux

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       All images © Emmanuelle Moureaux In an effort to merge the past, present, and future in a single work, Tokyo-based French architect and designer Emmanuelle Moureaux (previously) hung 168,000 paper numbers in rainbow-like rows to create her latest piece, “Slices of Time.” The suspended project contains 100 hues, in addition to white, that are […] More

    • 138 Shares169 Views

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      Watercolor Paper Transforms into Suggestive Facial Sculptures by Artist Polly Verity

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       All images © Polly Verity, shared with permission Polly Verity’s most recent paper sculptures test viewers’ sense of pareidolia. The dexterous artist employs single sheets of watercolor paper for her minimalist projects that morph into solitary faces and kissing figures through a series of bends and twists. Verity tells Colossal that she’s been crafting […] More