Paper Show

Heron Arts is pleased to announce the group exhibition Paper Show by Ale Rambar, Andrea Bergen, Christine Kim, Hari & Deepti, Huntz Liu, Judith + Rolfe, Julia Ibbini, Pippa Dyrlaga, Reina Takahashi, Roberto Benavidez, Sara Rayo, Tiffanie Turner, Yuko NIshikawa, and Zai Divecha. The exhibition will be on view at Heron Arts until August 6, 2022. Paper Show looks into a variety of ways artists exclusively use paper to create works of art. The opening reception for Paper Show is on Saturday, July 9th, 2022 from 4-7pm and is free and open to the public. In our increasingly digital society, the humble sheet of paper often no longer receives the appreciation it deserves. For centuries, paper was the vessel most responsible for mass communication. Without it, there was no way to efficiently and reliably record stories, share news, spread ideas, or communicate over long distances. Paper’s place in the art world is equally as important. Most often, paper is seen just as a base medium, with paint or ink on it carrying the story or message. But in Paper Show, the paper itself becomes the real champion, used to directly construct images and narrative. Paper Show aims to highlight a range of paper’s possibilities, in which it is the star rather than the stage. Paper is one of the most accessible materials to artists, but the ways it may be manipulated can vary dramatically depending on its type. Paper that responds well to folding may not respond at all well to tearing, cutting, or paint. Each artist treats paper with a unique approach, and many of these artists employ very specific kinds of paper to create their desired effect. Some artists focus on abstraction while others are figured-based. With no paint or drawing whatsoever, these artists call upon craft and precision to create extremely detailed and often hyper-realistic works of art. Paper Show will feature a group of artists from around the world, with a site-specific installation from Yuko Nishikawa. Artists will present framed works and 3D sculptural works, all exclusively in paper. We are excited to have a site-specific installation from New York based artist, Yuko Niskhikawa, titled “Memory Tourist”. “Memory Tourist” consists of over 200 unique mobiles whose wire forms create line drawings in the air, connecting colorful and airy repurposed paper “Cookies” which gently move in response to us, as we walk by them and stir the air. To make these Cookies, Nishikawa collected used photo-background paper from artists and photographers in her Brooklyn studio building. She breaks the paper down to pulp, and re-formulates it with bookbinders' glue into an air-dry clay. The rich colors come directly from the colors of the donated paper - there are no added paints or pigments. Nishikawa mixes pulps the way she would mix paints, by blending blue pulp and red pulp to make a purple clay, for instance. Mushy pulps yield homogeneous colors, while crumbly pulps have a stippled effect. Finely blended pulps form a smoother surface, like macaroons, while coarser pulps are bumpier, like oatmeal cookies. Over the last year, Nishikawa made mobiles for specific times and places, first for Cape Cod in May, Vermont in November, and finally this Spring for different neighborhoods in her Brooklyn hometown. In traveling for these installations, the artist began to think of the memory of the material - the paper. Each piece of paper in the mobile retains its original colors and fibers, elements that interact with one another as they swing, recreate relationships, and ultimately part ways - just like us as individuals who pass through a place for pleasure.