Canadian artist Calvin Nicholls has been creating intricately detailed paper sculptures for 34 years. 

Calvin makes use of a haut-relief sculptural technique, whereby a picture is carved to stand out from the surface, creating a striking three-dimensional piece.

Using simple monochromatic shades of white and off-white paper, Calvin creates artworks depicting wildlife, from foxes and birds to bears. Tiny slivers of paper are used to accentuate the details of the fur and feathers.

To view more of Calvin’s work, visit calvinnicholls.com.

(h/t) thisiscolossal.com

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Paris-based artist and designer Maud Vantours works with paper to create colourful artworks.

Maud, who specialised in textiles and materials research at art school École Duperré in Paris, loves to experiment with colour, materials and graphic design elements in her work.

Layering vibrant colours that evolve into beautiful patterns, original graphics and ethereal landscapes, her 3D sculptures are predominantly made from paper, which has over time become Maud’s favourite medium.

Her ability to transform paper into works of art has seen her work with a number of high-end luxury brands, including Lancôme, Guerlain, YSL and Tag Heuer.

To see more of Maud’s work, visit maudvantours.com.

(h/t) thisiscolossal.com

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The talented Berry Meyer, a South African artist living in The Netherlands, creates intricate 3D collages that tell layered stories. Here, she talks to us about how she came to discover her passion for 3D, on not waiting to be discovered as an artist and how she veers away from working towards a preconceived idea.

When did you create your first collage and how did you first manage to have your work featured in a gallery space?

I’m not sure when I made my first collage, but it’s something I’ve been doing for about the last 14 years. I have always liked how in collage you can create endless possibilities and the outcome will always be unpredictable. A few years after my masters I enrolled as a post-graduate printmaking student at Michealis, which has a graduate exhibition every year that gets a lot of exposure and foot traffic. After this exhibition, Salon 91, AVA and Cavalli invited me to exhibit with them.

When viewing your beautiful 3D collages, it looks as though every piece has been consciously decided upon. How do you go about selecting pieces for your artworks?

I scour secondhand bookshops, thrift stores and flea markets, keeping an eye out for collections of images that others dismiss. Nowadays, I keep a constant eye out for materials. Once I have found a group of images I like, I collate images that speak to the theme of the gallery and then try and make a marriage of the contradictions surrounding the theme. Often I would try and distance my obsessions and say to myself, “This time I will not deal with gender or politics of place”, but then the image would just come back to exactly that. I have since discovered that I cannot work towards a preconceived idea but rather just make a start and then make the images and ideas speak as I go along.

On average, how long does it take you to complete a collage?

It’s difficult to work out how long it takes, because I am constantly busy creating images even when I have nowhere to send them. Most of my time is spent cutting out images that appeal to me, in stamps and other printed media. I always have a small pair of scissors with me and leave a little hamster trail of cuttings when I’m on holiday or visiting friends. By now I have a few drawers full of imagery and I can make three big collages in a month. By then most of the imagery has already been cut out, reinforced and raised with foam board before I begin the layout. Most of my time is spent cutting out images and a lot of time is spent doing layout and hunting for missing imagery, often flowers or hands.

When did you first find yourself drawn to the 3D medium and what is most rewarding about this form?

Although I enjoy making traditional two-dimensional collage and really respect the art form of creating depth on a flat surface I was drawn to the possibilities that can be created in three-dimensional dioramas. I first experimented with this technique in 2013. I started with cutting out stamps and affixing them to foam board suspended from pins and then planted on a styrofoam base. When my canvases got bigger the pins were replaced with layers of foam board to create depth. I find making three-dimensional work fun because you can create depth and mess with scale, which allows you to play with the possibilities inherent in the images in a way that is different from traditional collage. I also love seeing people’s reactions to these three dimensional worlds, as the depth makes some images stand out more while pushing back some images that are left as a surprise to the careful observer.

What advice would you give emerging artists?

There is no such thing as being discovered or someone making your career for you. It takes time to find your voice or signature and you will fail more than succeed in the beginning. Thus far I have had more rejection than success, life can be embarrassing that way and that’s okay! Be as independent as you can afford to, learn to photograph your work professionally, learn how to make frames from raw wood, market your brand and sell yourself, because there will not always be a gallery doing these things for you and the more you can do for yourself the better.

What can we expect from you next year?

I would love to take part in more international art fairs. I have participated in two Dutch fairs and am currently looking into German and Spanish fairs, as I think that those markets might be more open to collage. I also have entries for a few more European exhibitions and I have applied for a few residencies, so fingers crossed. I would also love to continue exhibiting in Cape Town, and possibly Johannesburg. Other than that, I picked up some taxidermy skills that I would finally like to combine with my collage. The objects that I have collected seem to all serve fashion in some bizarre way in the past, but I think these fashion trends are outdated and I would like to incorporate the items in an attempt to preserve these objects.

View more of Berry’s works at berrymeyer.com.

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From a house covered in illustrations and bag charms to rhino art installations and paper decorations, these are the VISI picks of the week series – week 196.

1. Graffiti House By a.bran

“Illustrator a.bran has transformed a dilapidated house in Lithuania into a colourful artwork with his playful drawings,” says Online Editor Lindi Brownell Meiring. “I like the idea of brightening up and beautifying a structure that previously went unnoticed.”

Image credit: designboom.com

2. Fendi Bag-Bug Charms

“These adorably animated fur balls make for a fun way to brighten up your day-to-day handbag,” says Content Producer Mary Garner.

 

Slide into #friyay with this little guy at @fendi ? ——— hit up the story to play ????

A post shared by SKY PIE STUDIO ? Daniel Castro (@skypie) on Aug 4, 2017 at 9:07am PDT

 

More adventures with @fendi this week ?? ——– Help this #bagbug get home today on the IG story!

A post shared by SKY PIE STUDIO ? Daniel Castro (@skypie) on Aug 2, 2017 at 8:34am PDT

Image credit: fendi.com / skypie on Instagram

3. willowlamp Enchanted Forest

“Rene Dekker Interiors commissioned Adam Hoets of willowlamp to create the 18-square metre Enchanted Forest for a house in London,” says Features Editor Amelia Brown. “It was inspired by Hoets’s fantastical Faraway Tree and is made up of a series of spiralling and interwoven tree branches suspended at multiple levels.” More nature inspired interior design trends.

Image credit: willowlamp.com

4. New From Studio Roof

“Studio Roof (who we previously featured here) produces imaginative 3D decorations made from recycled cardboard that you can assemble with your kids,” says Head of Decor Content Tracy Greenwood. “New to the studio’s range are the monkey, giraffe, lion and panda wall-mounted pieces – love!”

Image credit: studioroof.com

5. Rhinos in the City

“A three-month public outdoor exhibition is being arranged by organisation The Rhinos Are Coming!!!,” says Managing Editor Samantha Charles. “The exhibition is aimed at raising awareness for the protection of rhinos through art. There are already eight beautiful rhinos, which will be paraded through the Mother City this summer, but the organisation is calling for more local artists to come up with designs. Want to get involved? Here’s more info. The works of art will be auctioned off after the exhibition, with funds going towards Stop Rhino Poaching.”

Image credit: therhinosarecoming.org

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Pakistan-based designer Omar Aqil has re-created six of Pablo Picasso’s paintings in 3D using Cinema 4D, Photoshop and Illustrator.

Omar‘s creative rendering sees some of Picasso’s most renowned works, like Monument to the Spaniard and Seated Woman, reimagined through the use of modern multimedia graphics. The collection, titled Mimic, is a visual experiment that reflects Omar’s artistic interpretations of the 20th-century paintings and aims to offer an alternative narrative to the famed artist’s masterpieces.

Omar has used hyper-realistic visuals that boast depth, voluminous textures and whimsical interpretations to bring the flat figures to life, giving Picasso’s artworks a new implication. His fantastical and multi-layered creations highlights how people interpret various art pieces in different ways.

See more of Omar’s work at behance.net/omaraqil.

(h/t) iloboyou.com

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British paper cutting artist Pippa Dyrlaga creates delicately intricate paper silhouettes, something she’s been doing since 2010.

Her works embody an enchanting and fairytale-like quality, making one hanker back to a time when art was simply a process between the artist and their medium.

“My work is inspired by animals, nature, the place I live, architecture and the occasional pop culture reference,” says Pippa on her website. “My paper cut works are mostly cut from a single sheet of paper. They are first drawn out by hand on the reverse of the paper, and then hand cut using a scalpel, and can take hours to complete. The process is just as important to me as the finished product.” Pippa finds the process of creating her delicate artworks, using traditional techniques, to be a calming and meditative experience.

View more of Pippa’s work at pippadyrlaga.com.

(h/t) yatzer.com

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