Organizers & Sponsors
FOLDED: Compositions in Paper is sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Heritage Foundation as part of World Origami Days celebration 2021.
Oct 28–Nov 8
Bogart and Bowes Courts
Celebrate World Origami Days with this pop-up display featuring 11 remarkable contemporary origami sculptures.
Explore representational, sculptural, and wearable examples of origami by noted origami artists Robert J. Lang, Goran Konjevod, and Linda T. Mihara. You’ll be awed and delighted by the amazing forms — from kimono jackets, high-heeled shoes, and abstract shapes to lifelike birds and fish — each folded from an uncut sheet of paper.
Typically associated with Japanese culture, origami (oru, to fold, and kami, paper) is the time-honored practice of folding paper into eye-catching works of art. While earlier forms were mostly representational, contemporary origami exhibits incredible complexity and new styles draw from modern-day inspirations.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Robert J. Lang has been folding origami for over 50 years and is now recognized as one of the world’s masters of the art. His work combines his interests in the natural world and in the mathematical underpinnings of origami, sometimes combining both interests in the same artwork. Says Lang, “In my representational work, I strive to re-create the emotion in the viewer that I feel when seeing the original subject of the work.”
Goran Konjevod was born and raised in Croatia. He is a mathematician and computer scientist who has been exhibiting his abstract sculptures made by folding paper or metal since 2008. “My work uses sequences of pleats to create patterns and allow the paper to curve through three dimensions,” says Konjevod. “Part improvisation and part planning, most of the pieces are abstract and use the physical properties of the paper (thickness, flexibility, resistance to folding) as an important part of the process.”
Award-winning origami artist Linda T. Mihara is a third-generation Japanese American who has been practicing origami since the age of five. She authors an origami column for the “Nichibei Weekly” and produces Free Fold Origami Saturdays on Eventbrite. In 2015, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee presented her with the Asian Pacific American Heritage Award. “I strive to think outside the box when it comes to origami design,” says Mihara. “Having a strong understanding of origami basics is key to creating something unique and wonderful. I love origami for the way it can transform a single sheet of paper into something beautiful.”
Image: Raven, Opus 422, 2004, by Robert Lang (American, b. 1961). Paper. © 2004 Robert Lang.
FOLDED: Compositions in Paper is sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Heritage Foundation as part of World Origami Days celebration 2021.
