The Potential of Paper, Out Now!

June 22, 2020

Surface Design Association is excited to announce our Summer 2020 edition of Surface Design Journal: The Potential of Paper. “The world of paper art is a fascinating one. Artists are able to transform its properties from an ephemeral, one-dimensional medium into structurally sound three-dimensional sculptural forms. Paper’s only limit is the human imagination. We travel the globe in this issue to discover The Potential of Paper.” – Elizabeth Kozlowski, SDJ Editor

Here’s a preview of what to expect:

“Pulp Potential in the Anthropocene” by April Claggett looks at the work of Rebecca Hutchinson–an environmental artist with a sustainability commitment.

Rebecca Hutchinson Purple Overlap 2018, fired and unfired porcelain paper clay, handmade paper, organic material, Adobe paperclay, woodwork with harvested willow, slip trailing both fired and unfired, slip-dipped fiber, paperclay paper mache, 90′′ x 60′′ x 12′′. Photo: Jeff Van Tine.

“Cut to the Quick: Antonius-Tín Bui’s Not Sorry for the Trouble” by Ariel Zaccheo spotlights the perceptive and unflinching papercut series, Not Sorry for the Trouble, which calls out stereotypes facing Asian diaspora in the United States.

Antonius-Tín Bui Not Sorry for the Trouble 2019, laser and hand-cut paper, 20′′ x 16′′. Photo courtesy of the artist.

“Sustainable, Laborious, and Saturated: The Very Human Production Process of Mopa-Mopa and Pasto Varnish” by Rebekah Frank explores Mopa-Mopa, a complex production of flexible resin derived without harming the tree in the process, guided by Tatiana Apráez, a jewelry artist from Colombia.

Tatiana Apráez Pajaro Pacífico 2019, Mopa-Mopa, steel, wood, 4′′ x 3′′. Mopa-Mopa application by Maestro Francisco Narváez. Photo: Alberto Moncayo.

“Aesthetics and Ethics: Works on Paper by Ariamna Contino and Alex Hernández-Dueñas” by Amy Mutza looks at the Cuban artists’ series of minimalist paper cutouts which deconstruct socio-political and economic subjects, turning troubling statistics into aesthetically pleasing abstractions.

Ariamna Contino Penitencia (Penitence) (installation view with artist) 2019, hand-cut paper, compost, seed beds, dimensions vary. From the exhibition Entorno aleccionador (A Cautionary Environment) at Cuban Pavilion, 58th Venice Biennial, 2019. Photo courtesy of the artist.

First Person by Yulya Dukhovny features the touching handmade characters, props, and seta from productions by Microscope Toy Theater.

Yulya Dukhovny Conductor from “Real Elephant” 2016, cardboard, paper, wire, watercolor, paper cutout, 2′′ x 6.5′′.

In the Studio: Fiberhouse Collective by Nica Rabinowitz explores the many different ways paper can be made from mushrooms and the research being done at Fiberhouse Collective.

Nica Rabinowitz using hapazome technique to create print with foraged plants, Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York, 2019.

Made Aware: The Rhinoceros Project–A Call to Stillness by Anne Beck and Michelle Wilson is collaborative project transforming an early colonial image of a rhinoceros into a life-size embroidery and watermark, inspired by Albrecht Durer’s 1515 woodblock, The Rhinoceros.

Anne Beck and Michelle Wilson with Community Members The Rhinoceros Embroidery 2018, embroidery, social practice, 96′′ x 120′′. Cubberley Studios, Palo Alto, California. Photo: Michelle Wilson.

In the Studio by Grant Benoit spotlights the artist’s wallpaper-inspired works, which look at nostalgia through the scope of the domestic space and the everyday.

Grant Benoit veneering a bentwood rocker with digital pattern for Revealing Revelations, 2017. The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts, Highlands, North Carolina. Photo: Byron Tenesca.

10 Questions with Crystal Van Dee and Catherine Reinhart is the second installment of our newest department! Learn more about SDA’s Website and Advertising & Outreach Managers.

Crystal Van Dee Plague Doctor 2020, watercolor on paper.

Catherine Reinhart Artifact: Shirt 2020, fiber, free motion quilted, trapunto quilted, 18″ x 15.5″. Photo by the artist.

Our In Print Department features reviews of two books. The first, “The Intentional Thread: A Guide to Drawing, Gesture, and Color in Stitch” by Susan Brandeis reviewed by Patricia Malarcher, and the second, “A Craftsman’s Legacy: Why Working with Our Hands Gives Us Meaning” by Eric Gorges with Jon Sternfeld reviewed by D Wood.

In Review At Home, 2020 Paper Biennial at the Museum Rijswijk reviewed by Monika Auch explores the theme of “home” as defined in a global world, where your place of birth might not be equal to feeling at home or carrying any significance at all.

Lebohang Kganye Pied Piper’s Voyage (animated film) 2014. Music by Auntie Flo and Esa Williams, 3 min 26 sec, film still 1.1. © The artists and Museum Rijswijk for publicity purposes At Home exhibition.

To buy a copy of The Potential of Paper, go to the SDA Marketplace, or you can check out a free digital sample on our SDA Journal page.

2 Comments

Linda Colsh says
June 22, 2020 at 7:27 am
please make the digital Journal available for Mac laptops and desktop iMac. I don't have an iPad and Iphone screen is WAY too small to read a Journal. Thanks.
Crystal Van Dee says
July 8, 2020 at 8:40 pm
Linda, I agree a phone is way too small for the vibrancy of the journal! However, members can always use the website to view the latest issues of the journal. Here's the url: https://www.surfacedesign.org/journal/digital-journal/ You will need your member login info. If you need help, you can email info@surfacedesign.org