Exhibition / “The Paper Sculpture Show”
Various locations, 2003–2007
Curated by Mary Ceruti, Matt Freedman, and Sina Najafi
In 2003, Cabinet—in collaboration with SculptureCenter, NY, and
Independent Curators International, NY—organized “The Paper Sculpture
Show,” a traveling exhibit in which the visitor was
invited to assemble three-dimensional sculptures from flat pages
designed by twenty-nine established and emerging contemporary artists.
Each artist was given up to three pages with the instructions that
assembly should require very basic materials such as tape and rubber
bands. The exhibition opened at SculptureCenter on 7 September 2003 and
subsequently traveled to nineteen additional venues. (See below for
full list.)
Drawing on cultural paradigms as diverse as paper doll books, Mad magazine “fold-ins,” and exploded schematic diagrams, the artists in the “Paper Sculpture Show” (and in its incarnation as a book) offer a visually stunning and conceptually rich hands-on exploration of the diversity of artistic practice today. The exhibition raises complicated and often contradictory issues raised when artists and visitors collaborate to make the works of art: Who are the true creators of these pieces? What is the role of the viewers-builders? Are the pieces in the show works of art or mere reproductions? Where do we locate failure or success in a project like this?
Participating Artists
Janine Antoni, The Art Guys, David Brody, Luca Buvoli, Francis Cape
& Liza Phillips, Minerva Cuevas, Seong Chun, E. V. Day, Nicole
Eisenman, Spencer Finch, Charles Goldman, Rachel Harrison, Stephen
Hendee, Patrick Killoran, Glenn Ligon, Cildo Meireles, Helen Mirra, Aric
Obrosey, Ester Partegas, Paul Ramirez Jonas, Akiko Sakaizumi, David
Shrigley, Eve Sussman, Sarah Sze, Fred Tomaselli, Pablo Vargas Lugo,
Chris Ware, Olav Westphalen, and Allan Wexler (modular exhibit design,
also included in the book)
SculptureCenter
Long Island City, New York
7 September–7 December 2003
Regina Gouger Miller Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
8 September–14 October 2003
DiverseWorks
Houston, Texas
11 September–7 November 2003
Contemporary Art Center of Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
30 October 2003–4 January 2004
Hunter Museum of American Art
Chattanooga, Tennessee
6 December 2003–1 February 2004
Gallery 400, University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
12 January–21 February 2004
The Ballroom
Marfa, Texas
16 January–16 March 2004
Orange County Museum of Art
Newport Beach, California
14 February–18 April 2004
Salina Art Center
Salina, Kansas
9 June–4 August 2004
Dunlop Art Gallery
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
11 September–31 October 2004
Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester
Rochester, New York
5 February–27 March 2005
Art Interactive
Boston, Massachusetts
19 February–27 March 2005
Legion Arts
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
16 March–8 May 2005
Coral Springs Museum of Art
Coral Springs, Florida
3 June–29 July 2005
University of Virginia Art Museum
Charlottesville, Virginia
18 June–14 August 2005
Purdue University Galleries
West Lafayette, Indiana
24 October–4 December 2005
Atlanta Contemporary Art Center
Atlanta, Georgia
28 January–25 March 2006
Contemporary Arts Center
Cincinnati, Ohio
18 August–5 November 2006
Austin Museum of Art
Austin, Texas
10 February–6 May 2007
Kresge Art Museum
East Lansing, Michigan
4 September–14 October 2007
The exhibition and book were made possible in part by a grant from the Peter Norton Family Foundation.