The Williamsburg Art & Historical (WAH) Center’s Over the Edge: Paperworks Unbound features a diverse array of artists who have presented their ideas and creativity though the classic medium of paper. Over recent years artists have been trying to find new media, techniques, and audiences to their art to update the status quo. Yet Paperworks Unbound – which opened on Saturday, October 25 and is on display through November 23, 2014 – highlights innovative artists who explore the beauty and diversity of the paper medium.
The goal of Paperworks Unbound, as proposed by curators Yuko Nii and Rebecca Cuomo, is to explore the idea that artists who employ paper as their primary medium use it as a point of departure to “defy the mainstream understanding of books as antiquated artifacts and paper as [a] cheap, disposable commodity.” This theme is explored through the works of 180 participating artists.
The artwork in the gallery ranges from Dale Williams’ monumental oilstick-on-prime-paper drawing Dire (image 1) to whimsical little sculptures such as Maria Mangano’s Locusts (image 2). The show features time-honored black and white with Noelle King’s Sismatica (image 3) and vibrant pieces of color, Adam Frezza & Terri Chiao’s Paper Plant Family (image 4); paper masks, Bearing by Natalie Reichman (image 5), and works almost suitable to wear, Colorful Clothes No. 1 by Wang Lei (image 6).
It is a large selection of works in a range of styles presented in the WAH Center’s second floor gallery that makes Over the Edge: Paperworks Unbound a show of wonderment. The viewer will have to take a step back in order to absorb and appreciate the spectacle.
Hubert Silva, Contributing Writer to the WAH Center Blog.
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