Chairs, Clothes and Objects Made Entirely Of Paper By Vincent Tomczyk.

the above chair is made entirely from paper

Artist Vincent Tomczyk likes working with paper because, in his own words, "my art requires me to be part craftsman and part engineer." His clothing, chairs and other objects crafted from various types of paper and foamcore are hard to discern from the originals because the likenesses are uncannily realistic.

Below are selections from his Versisimilitudes and Virtu Collections:


above: Vincent Tomczyk, Americana, paper jeans, 2011, paper, canvas, silk and nylon thread, 15 x 9 x 11 in.


above: Vincent Tomczyk, Shirt and Tie, 2010, Mulberry and various other papers, 23 x 30 x 4 in.


above: Vincent Tomczyk, William S. Burroughs, Diptych, 2012, printed paper and woven paper, 23 x 14.5 x 1 in.


above: Vincent Tomczyk, Wallet, 2011, Paper, nylon thread, 4 x 3 x 0.5 in. (folded)


above: Vincent Tomczyk, Paper Eames Chair LCW, 2012, Various papers, hand painted, 22 x 23 x 28 in.


above: Vincent Tomczyk, Ubiquitous, 2012, foam core, 22 x 20 x 32 in., Private Collection


above: Vincent Tomczyk, Black Swim Cap, 2011, Painted coated paper, canvas, glass beads, 8 x 10 x 3.5 in.


above: Vincent Tomczyk, Bergère, 2012, Various papers, 26 x 26 x 36 in.

Artist's Statement:

My art centers on objects to stimulate visceral connections. These compositions represent biographies of people, experiences and interpretations of intangible ideas. Although my work can be categorized as realism, my intention is to distill the emotion of an object, then through expression, reconstruct it into my view of its essential self - free of function.

As an artist working primarily with paper, my art requires me to be part craftsman and part engineer. I learned a lot about how to construct things by working at my father’s side, in his workshop. I’m compelled to produce work that is visually poetic by using a medium that defies perceived limitations.

I am currently working on a series of paper chairs. I am interested in how personal chairs can become over time - almost taking on the characteristics of their owners. Chairs provide a sense of dignity - from hand carved stools in Africa, to thrones in Europe. Conversely, chairs are ubiquitously a part of our public and social lives, bringing humanity together in small groups or en masse. - Vincent

Upcoming exhibition:
Gallery 825 / Los Angeles Art Association
Solo Show: Vincent Tomczyk / OVERLOOKED... May 4 - 31, 2013
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 4, 2013, 6-9 PM
825 N La Cienega Blvd Los Angeles CA 90069

Vincent Tomczyk

Zoe Bradley Does Windows. Amazingly Creative Displays for Harvey Nichols Windows Made from Found Objects and Household Products.

Using products and found objects, artist and designer Zoe Bradley (about whose incredible paper fashions and window displays I have blogged before), created these headpieces for the window displays of department store Harvey Nichols. Using items such as paper drink umbrellas, silly straws, toilet brushes and rubik's cubes, she created these 'wigs' for the mannequin heads.








Zoe Bradley
Harvey Nichols

Hole Punch Dots Make Whole Face Portraits by Artist Nikki Douthwaite.

Artist and huge F1 fan Nikki Douthwaite makes mosaic portraits out of photographs, paper scraps, articles and ephemera, but her Hole Punch Dot portraits really caught my eye. Most of us just toss out those little round pieces of paper punched out from larger pieces without giving them a second thought. What we think of us trash, Nikki has turned into an art medium.


above: Marilyn Monroe's portrait made with approx 99,000 punch hole dots


above: James Lebron takes a good close look at Nikki's portrait of John Lennon

Taking colored hole punch dots to create large overscale black and white portraits (yes, colored dots create the shading and tones in the black and white portraits) Nikki painstakingly arranges them on wood, varnishes them and frames them.



She has created many Hole Punch Dot portraits of Formula 1 race car drivers and even one of Bruce McLaren himself- all shown below. She has also created several commissions and boasts a world's record. Here's a look at her work.

MUHAMMED ALI
Hole Punch Dots (Approx 115,000) on wood, Size - 165cm by 150cm:


JIMI HENDRIX
Hole Punch Dots (Approx 150,000) on wood, Size - 150cm by 200cm:



MARTIN and ALEX BRUNDLE, Hole Punch Dots (Approx 140,000) on wood:


ALAIN PROST
Hole Punch Dots (Approx 100,000) on wood, Size - 160cm by 122cm:



JENSON BUTTON
Hole Punch Dots (Approx 100,000) on wood, Size - 160cm by 122cm:


JAMES HUNT
Hole Punch Dots (Approx 100,000) on wood, Size - 160cm by 122cm:


BRUCE MCLAREN
Hole Punch Dots (Approx 150,000) on wood, Size - 200cm by 150cm:



JOHN LENNON
Hole Punch Dots (Approx 99,000) on wood, Size - 158cm by 122cm:



MARILYN MONROE
Hole Puch Dots (Approx 99,000) on wood, Size - 158cm by 122cm:



AYRTON SENNA
Hole Punch Dots (Approx 100,000) on wood, Size - 160cm by 122cm:



CHERYL COLE
Hole Punch Dots (Approx 59.000) on wood, Size - 122cm by 105cm:



ARTIST STATEMENT:
My work for the last three years has been based around two mediums; dot art (also known as confetti art) and collage.

My dot art is made by using coloured dots produced by a hole punch, and painstakingly stuck on, one by one, with a pair of tweezers. This idea came from the works of Georges-Pierre Seurat, studying his pointillist paintings from the late 19th century. My collages are made from magazine articles relevant to the subject of the picture.



My work, whether dots or collage, have similarities in progress. Based around art-critic and teacher Charles Blanc and chemist Michel Eugene Chevreul's theories of optical mixing, colour placement and colour relationships. Colour excites me, and use of it is critical to the success of one of my works.

Whatever the medium, my goal is to create two experiences for the viewer. The first is a close up experience of either thousands of tiny, mixed up coloured dots, or readable magazine articles, which in detail intrigue in themselves, but may seem chaotic and to have no order to the viewer at this distance. The second experience is the far away view, the viewers' eyes and brain mix the dots/articles/colours together, revealing the relationships of the details and the image as a whole.

My choice of portraits comes from an interest in faces, in the biological form; bone and muscle construction, sociological, expression and individuality. Most of my work is based around my love of motor sport, predominantly Formula One, for which I have a huge passion.


above: Nikki Douthwaite shows off her world record holder certificate for creating the world's largest confetti mosaic consisting of 587,000 hole punched dots.

I have been working with these mediums now for about three years. I am obsessed with attention to detail, and I am meticulous about every dot, every piece being in the right place. I work for ten to fourteen hours at a time, through the night to optimise concentration.


For Sales Enquires please contact her Agent, Henna at henna.riaz@gmail.com


Nikki Douthwaite

Dogeared Design. The Folded Book Art of Isaac G. Salazar.

 

 Isaac G. Salazar is a completely self taught American book artist located in Artesia, NM. With a degree in accounting, he works as a full time accountant. Having never having taken an art class, he discovered his talent for folding the pages of books to create imagery while trying to find a hobby he could enjoy. Only recently did he begin to refer to himself as 'an artist.

  Shapes, Symbols and Logos: Isaac's work is getting more and more attention lately. His pieces have appeared in the following ad campaign for the Filigranes Librarie: The April 2012 issue of Reader's Digest' featured his work on the table of contents (below) and an interview with the artist:

   

above photo by Sam Kaplan, courtesy of Reader's Digest 

 His inspiration comes from multiple things and places - such as browsing the used book section for titles that stand out to him. He attempts to make a correlation between the book titles and the symbols he creates within their pages, such as the recycle symbol created in a book titled "A World with out Trees".

   

 By taking books that would otherwise end up in a landfill and turning them into art, he gets a sense of satisfaction that his hobby can contribute to reducing waste. Custom names and words in books with personal meaning make great gifts.

   

 He rarely uses new books, unless commissioned to. Recently he has ventured into logos and symbols and would like to pursue this area more. 

   

above: Isaac G. Salazar and his book art featuring his own surname 

 

all images courtesy of the artist. 

 His etsy store His flickr photos