The work of 27 international paper artists will
be on show at the 2008
Holland Paper Biennial. In Museum Rijswijk a wide selection of pieces by
22 artists will be presented in all the exhibition rooms, while the CODA Apeldoorn
will be exhibiting the monumental work and installations of 21 artists.
| Museum Rijswijk Patrica Hodson (England) Kakuko Ishii (Japan) Yu-Mi Kim (South Korea) Jin-Woo Lee (South Korea) Chris Natrop (USA) Maya Portner (Hawaii) CODA Apeldoorn |
Both museums Célio Braga (the Netherlands/Brazil) Long-Bin Chen (Taiwan/USA) Nancy Cohen (USA) Petra Ellert (Germany) Claudie Hunzinger (France) Nikki van Es (the Netherlands) Angela Glajcar (Germany) Joan Hall (USA) Winifred Lutz (USA) Richard Mens (the Netherlands) Oskar (the Netherlands) Stefan Saffer (Germany) Lyndi Sales (South Africa) Ivano Vitali (Italy) Annette Wimmershoff (Germany) Noriko Yamaguchi (Japan/Germany) |
| The exhibition During the seventh Holland Paper Biennial there will again be an extremely varied body of artworks on display made from paper. Although the artists often use the same materials and techniques for their work, the results are surprisingly different. Both Long-Bin Chen, who originates from Taiwan, and Oskar from the Netherlands use paper from telephone directories for their sculptures. Chen, who transforms a pile of directories into the head of the Buddha, wants to affect a union between East and West through his work: Buddha as the guardian of the millions of inhabitants of a Western metropolis. In contrast, Oskar’s life-size papier-mâché figures with skins of telephone directory paper are rooted in Western iconography of the Bible and Greek mythology. It is Noriko Yamaguchi who employs koyori, the traditional Japanese technique of twisting strips of paper into strings, at this year’s paper biennial in her loosely woven floral nets. In the work of the Italian Ivano Vitali, who uses the same technique, the effect is rather more robust. His cords of newspaper are rolled up tightly into gigantic balls of yarn ready to be made into disproportionate pieces of knitting with metre-long knitting needles. |
The Dutchman Richard Mens also works with newspaper. From wads of paper glued together he models larger than life, voluptuous female figures. A number of artists employ the thin and extremely strong paper from Asia made from mulberry plants in their work. Jin-Woo Lee from South Korea layers sheets of ink drenched hanji paper on top of each other between which he inserts charcoal, earth and pigments. His pieces evoke images of landscapes seen through frosted-glass windows. His compatriot Yu-Mi Kim uses the traditional Korean technique of hammering layers of hanji paper into material as strong as leather, which she uses for her airy sculptures. The transparent property of mulberry paper is precisely what Nikki van Es from the Netherlands exploits in her world of magnified, imaginary organic forms created using the Japanese variant taizan and watercolours. Cutting and tearing is currently ‘hot’ in the world of paper. Chris Natrop from the United States cuts organic shapes freehand from large sheets of paper to create complete installations. Canadian Ed Pien cuts out his large black silhouette productions freehand too using his own drawings projected onto paper. His favourite motif is a gigantic tree, where human-like figures and monsters loom between the boughs and branches. |
| Three artists from Germany employ the technique of cutting and folding. Stefan Saffer creates colourful compositions by applying paint to both sides of paper and cutting into it and folding it. Today’s visual culture is the main theme in the work of Petra Ellert. She transforms greatly enlarged reproductions of pictorial icons from the flat plane into three-dimensional images. Sculptress Annette Wimmershoff, on the other hand, applies the cutting and folding techniques to corrugated cardboard for her abstract sculptures and wall objects. Although she covers the objects afterwards with Japanese paper and pigment the flute structure of the cardboard remains visible. West of England-based American Howard Silverman also uses corrugated cardboard but leaves it in its natural state. He forms undulating landscapes that encompass the exhibition space from long rolls of waste cardboard. |
American Nancy Cohen is one of the artists at this biennial who makes her own paper. She covers discarded objects with a thin layer of paper and then assembles them into sculptures, which are open to a wide variety of interpretations. The work of British artist Patricia Hodson introduces computer-imaging technology to paper art for the first time. The printed digital images are combined with specially treated abaca (paper made from Manila hemp – a relative of the banana plant) to create translucent collages. |
| Grand paper fair To mark the conclusion of the 2008 Holland Paper Biennial, a grand paper fair will be held on Sunday 14 September from 13.00 until 17.00 on the premises and in the grounds of Museum Rijswijk and in the Oude Kerk (Old Church) opposite the museum. Countless artists, papermakers and paper merchants from the Netherlands and other countries will be displaying and selling their wares. Museum shops During the Holland Paper Biennial 2008 there will be a shop in Museum Rijswijk stocked with a wide selection of handmade papers from Southern and South-East Asia. In addition, there will be jewellery, small gifts and many books about making paper and paper art on sale. In the CODA Apeldoorn shop paper artworks, jewellery, exclusive gifts and books will be on sale. |
The book pure paper A special publication entitled Pure Paper will accompany the seventh Holland Paper Biennial. The compiler of the book is the well-known paper artist Peter Gentenaar, who has gathered together articles about the origin of paper. Elaine Koretsky recounts her journeys across Asia searching for ancient techniques with which to make paper. Sinologist Jacob Eyferth complements this with his description of a Chinese papermakers village. The German Helen Hiebert, Rogier Uitenboogaart from Japan and the paper artists Pat Torley and Peter Gentenaar here in the Netherlands talk about making their own paper. In addition there are articles about the intricate relationships that make up the building blocks of paper, the quest for alternative fibres, including paper made by wasps, and paper and the environment. The book also presents the artworks exhibited by the paper artists taking part in the Biennial, sometimes accompanied by a sample of the paper they use for their work. Publisher Pure Paper (Dutch/English): Uitgeverij Compres, Leiden; designer: Loes Schepens |
| More information about Pure Paper: Museum Rijswijk Herenstraat 67 NL-2282 BR Rijswijk www.museumryswyk.nl |
CODA Apeldoorn Vosselmanstraat 299 NL-7311 CL Apeldoorn www.coda-apeldoorn.nl |