The Art of Papercutting

Opening reception: Friday, September 14, 5-7pm

Gallery talk by Jose A. Chavez: Saturday, September 29, 10am - 11:30am

Closing date: Saturday, November 3

The art of paper cutting has its origins in the invention of paper itself in the 4th century AD in China. The oldest known surviving paper cut is from China in the 6th century.  As the technology of making paper traveled to other parts of Asia and to Europe so did the art of cutting paper into elaborate designs, both decorative and figurative, to be used to mark public occasions, community celebrations, holidays, rites of passage, and personal expression.

By the Middle Ages, paper cutting had become a popular art form found in Jewish communities in Middle East and North Africa. By the 1600s there were uniquely beautiful traditions and variations on the form in the Slavic countries, Scandinavia, and Germany..  Many cutting tools and types of paper can be employed. Techniques were first developed in China using small scissors and knives and these remain today as commonly used tools all over the world. In addition, there is an extraordinary array of paper that might be cut, folded, and inventively manipulated to produce these beautifully detailed designs and images.

The Nahuatl people of Central America used ‘amati’ paper (a coarse paper developed by the Aztecs from mulberry and fig bark) to cut shamanic images to cure or harm people. In Mexico in the 1900s, paper cutting (papel picado) artists began using specially designed chisels (fierritos) to cut through multiple layers of tissue paper producing up to 30 copies of a given design.

Co-curated by artists Jose Chavez and Hal Rammel, "The Art of Paper Cutting" at Gallery 224 surveys the work of eight artists from southeastern Wiscosifin who bring this art form into the 21st century as both a traditional and personal means of expression, addressing both its wonderful longevity and its expressive possibilities for our world today.

Artists participating:

Jose A. Chavez (co-curator)

Amy Soczka

Kelly Alexander

Daniel Rathbun

Xiaohong Zhang

Raoul Deal

Dara Larson

Bernie Jendrzejczak

Hal Rammel (co-curator)

Event schedule:

- Friday, September 14: Opening reception, 5-7pm.

- Saturday, September 29, 10am-11:30am:  Artist talk by Jose A. Chavez on the history and techniques of paper cutting. Kelly Alexander will attend with others tba.

- Saturday, October 20, 10am-11:30am: Artist conversation with Amy Soczka, Hal Rammel, and others tba.

• Saturday, November 3,10am11:30am: Closing reception and artist conversation with Daniel Rathbun, Hal Rammel, and others tba.

Gallery hours:

Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 10am-2pm during exhibitions

224 East Main Street (P.O. Box 544)

Port Washington, Wisconsin 53074

gallery224@gmail.com

©2018 Gallery 224