If you’re not drawing or painting on paper, it’s a very tricky medium to work with indeed. So why do so many artists choose to do so? Most derive great pleasure from the painstaking, meticulous work required to transform an ordinary, everyday substance into something rather more spectacular. The 30 unreal paper artworks below were produced by 30 different artists, each with their own distinct style and method of approaching the medium. Prepare to be amazed by what can be produced with nothing more than a few sheets of paper and human ingenuity.
1. Peter Callesen
Peter Callesen is a pre-eminent figure in the world of paper artwork. Born in Denmark in 1967, Callesen has produced a huge number of incredible paper cutouts, as well as many non-paper-related performance pieces and installations.
2. Jen Stark
Jen’s Stark’s colourful paper artwork is so eye-catching, it’s no wonder that she has become one of the most blogged about paper artists in the world. She uses layer upon layer of multicoloured sheets to stunning effect.
3. Simon Shubert
From one single sheet, Simon Shubert can produce highly detailed images. Architectural subjects with lots of straight lines suit his meticulous folded paper style.
4. Brian Dettmer
American artist, Brian Dettmer, appropriates and alters existing media, cutting into books (amongst other things) to reveal selected words and images, creating complex three-dimensional sculptures.
5. Sher Christopher
Sher Christopher, born in Bournemouth, England, is a paper sculptor who has exhibited throughout the UK and USA. Her work, almost always centred on the human form, is influenced heavily by the performing arts.
6. Elsa Mora
Elsa Mora is a multimedia artist who works with a plethora of materials. Her paper cuts are among her most impressive pieces, but you should also check out the work she does with flowers – folding and arranging them to create charming characters.
7. Yulia Brodskaya
Brodskaya’s beautifully crafted paper designs have been used to advertise some big brands. Newspapers and magazines, who also know a thing or two about selling paper, have been keen to use her work to illustrate covers of their publications.
8. Su Blackwell
Su Blackwell is pre-occupied with fairytales and you can see such landscapes popping up (no pun intended) frequently in her work. She’s another paper artist who has been picked up by some big brands. She recently did a prominent Nicole Farhi window display and campaigns for Pilsner Urquell and O2.
9. Richard Sweeney
Richard Sweeney’s paper sculptures are sleek, minimal and striking. He rarely uses colour in his work, preferring the subtle strength of paper’s natural colour. He’s represented by the Victor Felix Gallery in London.
10. Jolis Paons
Is fashion art? Of course it is. That’s why I’ve included Jolis Paons’ paper dress in this list. The spectacular outfit was made from pages ripped from a phone book. A great way to recycle, but I can’t imagine it lasting long in the rain!
11. Bovey Lee
Bovey Lee was born in Hong Kong, completing her BA degree in 1991. After moving to the USA in 1993, she began to get noticed for her terrific paper cutouts. The piece above is entitled: ‘Tsunami’.
12. Bert Simons
You could use an abundance of adjectives to describe all of the artwork featured in this list, but ‘realistic’ isn’t one of them. Bert Simons is one of the few artists who manages to make paper sculptures look remarkably like the real thing.
13. Cheong-ah Hwang
Incredibly beautiful, this tiny, lifelike hummingbird is expertly crafted with individual feathers cut from paper. The patience (not to mention steady hand) needed to produce something of this quality is really mind-boggling.
14. Ingrid Siliakus
Ingrid Siliakus practises paper architecture. She first discovered it viewing work by the originator of the discipline, Prof. Masahiro Chatani, in Japan. One of her ‘buildings’ recently graced the cover of Wallpaper magazine.
15. Ingrid Siliakus
16. Eric Joisel
The difference between origami and other types of paper sculpture is simple – origami is made from folding one single sheet of paper. The three sculptures above, by Eric Joisel, push the boundaries of what this ancient art form can produce.
17. Brian Chan
Brian Chan is the self-styled ‘maker of anything’. From origami to T-shirts, graphics and metalwork, he does it all. His origami insect sculptures, however, like the grasshopper above, are his best work.
18. Annie Vought
Annie Vought recreates notes and letters that she finds, dissecting the negative space around the words with an X-Acto knife. It’s a painstaking process, but ultimately worthwhile, judging by the amount of critical praise she’s receiving for it.
19. Shin Tanaka
Shin Tanaka makes extremely collectible paper toys like the colourful, robotic chap above. You can even make your own using patterns accessible through Shin’s website.
20. Mark Sky
Mark Sky, better known as the Dollar Artist, makes various animals and objects out of US currency. There are literally hundreds of examples in his back catalogue and I strongly suggest you check them out.
21. Chris Natrop
Chris Natrop’s work is rather more abstract than that of most of the artists explored in this article. For Chris, it’s as much about the atmosphere and shadows that his hanging work creates as the paper itself.
22. Tim Fishlock
Typography and paper have always been integrally linked, but paper is usually the substrate onto which type is printed, not the medium through which a font is created. Tim Fichlock’s font above was made from folded cardboard.
23. Sigrid Spier
Sigrid Spier makes cute 3D creatures by stacking layers of paper. In the image above, you can see an award she’s made by using this clever technique.
24. Toby Edwards
Toby Edwards, a graphic designer from London, made the three dimensional paper scene above to advertise Fedrigoni, a well known Italian paper company.
25. Craig Ward
Craig Ward is mostly known for his typographic work, but his paper cutouts are attracting widespread attention too. The A1 paper cut illustration above took 11 hours to complete.
26. Don Lucho
Chilean artist, Don Lucho, blurs the lines between illustration, sculpture and reality with his life-size paper creations, built from recycled material found on the streets. He is famous for producing ‘Casa de Carton’, a complete apartment made of card, white paint and black marker.
27. Eiko Ojala
From Tallinn in Estonia comes Eiko Ojala, an artist specialising in paper cut portraits. Somewhat reminiscent of pop artists of years gone by, there’s a certain Warholian quality to his work.
28. Mandy Smith
The Move is an animated film inspired by moving in Amsterdam. The house, central to the piece, and all the other sets are made from paper with just a little help from glue, foam board and wire.
29. Andrew S Allen
Winner of the Audience Favorite Animated Short at the 37th Annual Northwest Film and Video Festival, it’s full of collage and colour and no less than 16 hidden messages to decipher.
30. Yumiko Matsui
From a distance, you can see Yumiko Matsui’s miniature, paper recreation of New York’s famous Coney Island in its entirety. It’s very impressive. When you get closer, however, it becomes even more awe-inspiring, as individual human characters on the rides come into view.