Spotted During Armory Arts Week: Incredible ‘Paper’ Creations

NEW YORK—There were a pair of hand-painted rice paper boots at the Armory Show and intricately cut delicate papers at Volta and Scope. Throughout Armory Arts Week, interesting works made from paper were among the most creative, with artists using the medium in beautiful and unexpected ways. At Volta, an entire booth was filled with what looked like singles sheets of rumpled paper—the installation by Carol Young was actually composed of ceramic.

All photos © Arts Observer

VOLTA: Installation from the series “Memory and the Taxonomy of the Void,” 2012 (ceramic) by Carol Young at Beatriz Esguerra Art of Bogota.

Born in Uruguay, Carol Young lives and works in Colombia.

The gallery describes her work thus: “Using ceramic as her primary medium, Young’s installations and sculptures transcend standard perception of the material, creating work that is unique challenging, and beautiful. Her recent investigation explores the realms of memory, history and our conceptions of paper.”

VOLTA: Detail from the series “Memory and the Taxonomy of the Void,” 2012 (ceramic) by Carol Young.

VOLTA: From the series “Memory and the Taxonomy of the Void,” 2012 (ceramic) by Carol Young.

SCOPE: “Wingtip Voyage,” 2012 (cut paper, Chinese xuan (rice) paper on silk) by Bovey Lee at Grotto Fine Art of Hong Kong.

The gallery said that “Wingtip Voyage,” took about one month to complete.

In her artist statement, Bovey Lee says, “Power, sacrifice, and survival are the underlying themes that connect my cut paper. These three motivations also drive the tensions in m work, exploring the struggle between nature, rampant urbanization, and the ownership of natural resources.

Born in Hong Kong, Lee lives and works in Pittsburgh, Pa.

VOLTA: Detail of “Beethoven,” 2012 (books) by Long-Bin Chen at Frederieke Taylor of New York.

Alternative view: Long-Bin Chen creates his busts using the pages of books and magazines, as shown here from the back of one of his works.

VOLTA: “Untitled,” 2007 (tissue paper hand cut with scalpel) by Elisabetta Di Maggio at Laura Bulian Gallery of Milan.

Elisabetta Di Maggio, who was on hand at the show, said that the two-panel work took a year to complete. She used a scalpel to make the intricate cut-outs which she said represent micro organisms and city grids.

VOLTA: Detail of “Untitled,” 2007 (tissue paper hand cut with scalpel) by Elisabetta Di Maggio.

ARMORY SHOW: “Bosom Pavilion,” 2012 (hand-painted rice paper and fiberglass) by Peng Wei at UCCA (Ullens Center for Contemporary Arts) Limited Editions.