We are delighted that CAA member Kuniko Maeda, whose intricate paper works seem to fly out of their frames, has been chosen to create the Signature Piece for the 2023 Révélations Biennal at the Grand Palais, Paris.
Her spectacular framed sculpture Columbidae was selected to be the emblematic work of the biennal, embodying the fair's focus on the universal nature of crafts. Inspired by pigeons, the most maligned of birds, her laser-cut paper composition champions the overlooked and the mundane, making recycled paper glisten with iridescent purples and greens to conjure up images of fluttering wings and the spontaneity of flight. Her delicate recycled paper is hand-made from waste paper scraps and coated in Kakishibu, an ancient Japanese dye made from fermented persimmons, which is being rediscovered as an alternative to synthetic dyes for its rich range of earthy tones. Combining tradition and technology, these handmade papers are laser-cut with absolute precision before Kuniko forms them into sinuous three-dimensional sculptural works rippling with energy.
Kuniko's works are situated between a fascination with ordered control and organic release: although the papers are laser-cut to precise specifications, she leaves her assembling process to chance, allowing the piece to grow organically into its final form. Delicately balancing binaries, Kuniko's works bring tradition and technology, nature and humanity, the momentary and the eternal into dialogue.
See all of Kuniko's work here.
