Cut, sliced, scored, pricked, shredded, rolled, punched, burned, punctured, torn, found, bought, and borrowed, the works in this show honor paper and all of its abilities. The eight artists featured in this exhibit have tapped into the potential of paper beyond just a substrate. The results are extraordinary creations unique only to this medium. “PAPER: every which way” highlights not merely art on paper, but the art of paper.
Michael Buscemi bevel cuts thousands of small pieces of thick matboard by hand then builds them up into monumental sculptural reliefs heavy in movement, power, and joy.
Tahiti Pehrson meticulously slices paper with a small X-Acto blade to produce intricate patterns of form, light, and shadow. The exquisitely executed designs bring to life mathematical patterns in nature.
Missy Engelhardt scores paper as a strategic manipulation of the inherent structure of the material via sculptural mark-making. She considers it a collaboration with the material resulting in a metamorphosis of the paper and a record of the physical encounter with the object.
Colleen Ho pricks paper with a thumbtack to create her ethereal, tactile, and delicate embossments. The finished works echo her meditative and grounding process.
Jaynie Crimmins shreds then rolls paper from political solicitations and consumerist advertising transforming them from the banality of their materials into very personal and intimate sculptural reliefs.
Peter Combe punches hundreds of discs of colored paper from pre-fab paint swatches and harnesses these cut-outs and the properties of reflective light and color to give birth to photorealistic portraits.
Karen Margolis painstakingly paints, threads, and burns paper into complex universes inspired by micro-biology/neurology. A balance of elimination and reconstruction, damage and mending, the inspiration is inward yet universal.
Danielle Rante punctures patterned cuts in her hypothetical landscapes to further accentuate the dichotomy of the built and natural world. The paper on which she works is both derived and harvested as dictated by nature yet manipulated and guided by her placement and personal choices. Her work seeks to develop an intimate connection and personal response to understanding the struggles and curiosities of existing in a world that’s not solely wild or tamed.
“PAPER: every which way” will be on view May 15 – June 30, 2021. The gallery is by-appointment only. Please contact kimperialfineart@me.com for inquiries.
Extended through July 15th!
