three interlinked bodies of work | hand-cut paper, acrylic paint, mirrored stainless steel | 2021 | Solo Exhibition | Nancy Toomey Fine Art, Minnesota Street Project | San Francisco
In the Fold was my second solo exhibition at Nancy Toomey Fine Art, on view September 9 through October 30, 2021. The exhibition contains three distinct but interlinking parts: Sunset Crystal Fold, Reflector Specter, and Matrix Nouveau.
My studio practice is centered on the act of cutting paper. Executed free-form and exclusively with a knife, it has evolved into a stream-of-consciousness drawing technique — a meditation of repetition and reduction. Immediate cutting decisions and the intentional lack of pre-planning allow for the discovery of ambiguous silhouetted imagery that surfaces as interconnected landscapes. Individual cut paper objects stand alone or get fabricated into other two-dimensional formats. All elements come together in various combinations, creating larger multifaceted installations — worlds in which light, shadow, and form coalesce into a stable equilibrium.
Sunset Crystal Fold is a series of eight framed works of cut paper and acrylic paint, depicting networks of organic and geometric formations within deep atmospheric color. Meticulous cutting permeates the acrylic and paper substrate, creating a meshwork between substance and nothingness.
The series Reflector Specter incorporates aspects of previous cut paper ephemera into new sculptural projects — outlines of countless knife cuts from earlier work captured from photos, digitally manipulated, then fabricated into fresh generations in mirrored stainless steel.
Matrix Nouveau consists of acrylic and glitter on hand-cut paper. Produced in 2018, the pieces incorporate a more free-flowing process — none of the paint or cutting overly manipulated, allowing for more natural and spontaneous formations. Juxtaposed against Sunset Crystal Fold, its composition is unstructured and amorphous where the other is rigid and crystalline.
Video: Anthony Bello (director). Audio: Chris Natrop (voice). Video excerpts by David Benhaim (at Facebook, Los Angeles, 2016) and Eric Minh Swenson (at Nancy Toomey Fine Art, San Francisco, 2016).