Earlier this month, when I was visiting my parents in The Netherlands, I had the opportunity to see the paper art exhibition at CODA Museum in Apeldoorn. It's a biennial exhibition (runs until 29 October 2017) that puts visual art made on and of paper centre stage.
CODA Paper Art 2017 brings together the work of 31 artists from The Netherlands and abroad. Some artists reflect on paper as a material, while others use it to tell their story. Sometimes current issues inspire the artist but just as often the work of art is the result of material research (
source: CODA Paper Art 2017 Catalogue).
My latest art pieces have been made from paper and this winter I'll learn more about laser cutting so this exhibition came at the perfect time. Below are the works of artists that stood out for me:
Veronica Hodges
Nature is an important source of inspiration for her work. Installation
Seaweed in the sky reminds us of the beauty of nature which is always subject to change.
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Seaweed in the Sky by Veronica Hodges
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Angela Glajcar
She explores the possibilities of creating a 3-dimensional image with 2-dimensional parts. With sheets of ripped and colourless paper, she creates a massive sculpture that communicates with the space, light and shadow. The title of the work uses two terms; terra and perforation. Terra as in terra incognita (new territory and process) and perforation is shown in the way she treats the material.
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| Terforation by Angela Glajcar |
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| Terforation by Angela Glajcar |
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| Terforation (close-up) by Angela Glajcar |
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| Terforation (close-up) by Angela Glajcar |
Ina Fekken
Huizinge 3,6 is a burnt paper installation. The spectator can discern gas rigs drilling their way up in the cut-out sheets of paper. Together they form a gas pipe with the same diameter as the pipes used to transport the gas that is extracted from the soil of Groningen (Northern region of The Netherlands).
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| Huizinge 3,6 by Ina Fekken |
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| Huizinge 3,6 (close-up) by Ina Fekken |
Frank Straatman
He mainly makes spatial work in which human figures appear regularly. Distortion and instability play a big role in his work.
Soul sister is made with cardboard, tape, wax, wood and polyutheraan.
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| Soul sister by Frank Straatman |
Miriam Londoño
She focusses on the regugee crisis with depictions of streams of refugees and the routes they travel with works she made using strands of paper pulp. Miriam is an immigrant herself.
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| Refugees by Miriam Londoño |
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| Refugees (close-up) by Miriam Londoño |
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| Refugees (close-up) by Miriam Londoño |
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| Uncertain Routes by Miriam Londoño |
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| Uncertain Routes (close-up) by Miriam Londoño |
Naomi Mcintosh
She calls her pieces portable drawings as she is always looking for the transition of two dimensions into three dimensions. The necklaces are made from paper and wood.
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| Parallel Jewellery Collection by Naomi Mcintosh |
Cara Johnson
The Jewellery of this artist tells a unique story about a specific place. Nature and human intervention are important subjects in her work. For example, she buried one necklace made from wood and paper in a mining area for a month. The red earth stained the work.
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| Jewellery by Cara Johnson |
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| Jewellery by Cara Johnson |
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| Jewellery by Cara Johnson |
Pao Hui Kao
In her installation
Paper and Water she examines the strength of paper. She embarks from the idea that water always represents a threat to paper. Kao's research however shows that water changes the fibrous structure of paper in such a way that it actually makes it stronger.
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| Paper sculpure by Pao Hui Kao |
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| Paper sculpure (close-up) by Pao Hui Kao |
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| Paper sculpure by Pao Hui Kao |
Mia Wen-Hsuan Liu
Her paper creations are at the borders of painting, relief and sculpture. From a distance the abstract forms appear to be slowly moving away from the wall and occupy the space. Up close you become mesmerised by the endless working of the paper and the many details she applied with great precision.
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Paper sculpures by Mia Wen-Hsuan Liu
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Paper sculpure (close-up) by Mia Wen-Hsuan Liu
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Paper sculpure (close-up) by Mia Wen-Hsuan Liu
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Jiangmei Wu
Light Harvest is a magnified version of the protein complex that plays an important role in photosynthesis. She combines paper with video projection.
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| Light Harvest by Jiangmei Wu |
Vienna Romanée
With her piece
Datanaaiproject she focusses on the concept of time. It consists of cut out strips of newsprint bearing the days of the week and data that she sews together with human hair.
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| Datanaaiproject by Vienna Romanée |
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| Datanaaiproject by Vienna Romanée |
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| Datanaaiproject (close-up) by Vienna Romanée |
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| Datanaaiproject (close-up) by Vienna Romanée |
Elke Lutgerink
She pushes the boundary between fantasy and reality
. Plant and animal life are her sources of inspiration which she translates into more abstract versions. She creates fairylike figures from catalogues, magazines and wrapping paper.
Log was made out of paper from a TEFAF catalogue.
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| Log by Elke Lutgerink |
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| Log (close-up) by Elke Lutgerink |
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| Log (close-up) by Elke Lutgerink |
Kumi Yamashita
Her wall installation
Origami consists solely of sheets of origami paper and a light source that guarantees the face-shaped shadows on the wall. A simple sheet of paper symbolises the essence of who we are. This sheet can be folded into an infinite number of shapes, just like people appear in many guises and forms.
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| Origami by Kumi Yamashita |
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| Origami (close-up) by Kumi Yamashita |
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| Origami (close-up) by Kumi Yamashita |
Lilian Vlaun
Her spatial work
12°32'19.7"N 70°3'47.5"W consists of papier mâché boulders imitating the rocks found on the beaches of Aruba where she is from. Her work poses questions about culture versus nature and real versus imitation.
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| 12°32'19.7"N 70°3'47.5"W by Lilian Vlaun |
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| 12°32'19.7"N 70°3'47.5"W (close-up) by Lilian Vlaun |
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| 12°32'19.7"N 70°3'47.5"W (close-up) by Lilian Vlaun |
And after seeing so many beautiful artworks it was time to share our experiences and relax in CODA's funky café!
