While we in the stationery industry use paper as a vehicle for our artwork, there are paper artists out there who manipulate the paper itself to create art. They are masters at cutting, folding, sculpting and dyeing to generate a still life or caricatures, to explore architecture, fashion, history, mythology, and nature. Above is a collection of images we've run across that made us stop and say, Wow!
Isabelle de Borchgrave is a Danish painter currently exhibiting at San Francisco's Legion of Honor Fine Arts Museums now through June 5th, 2011. De Borchgrave recreates historical fashions using rag paper and paint.
Adrian Merz of I Never Kissed A Dog covered a room in what appears to be white Post-It notes before photographing the scene and experimenting with different lighting techniques. Whew! Talk about commitment to your craft. You can view additional photos and the installation process at dornob.
Peter Callesen creates paper art that literally pops off the page. Many of his intricately cut figures are beautiful at first glance, but they quickly evolve into something darker as they spill down onto the frame, bringing to mind the demise of Icarus and images of hell-fire and creepy crawlies.
Simon Schubert gives us a tour of a villa, inside and out, by creasing and folding paper to create grand staircases, mirrored hallways, tiled and carpeted floors and wood moldings.
Brian Dettmer, formerly from our great state of Illinois, carves through books to expose images and text in a way that may change how the content of the book is perceived. Be sure to check out Dettmer's Statement page for an Explanation of Process.
Bert Simons makes three dimensional paper portraits and sculptures. The whole process begins with a computer. To read about his process and to build your own Bert, visit Bored Panda.
If you could see wind, it might look like Mia Pearlman's paper art. She creates vortexes of cut paper, many of which are positioned around a light. Her work is not intended to survive beyond the exhibition, so catch one when you can.
Do you know of any talented paper artists? Are you a master at manipulating paper? Let us know, we love to see the amazing things that can be done in this medium.
