Li Hongbo's Paper Sculptures Stretch the Imagination

RUETERS
By Jimmy Jian and Maxim Duncan

Li Hongbo * Paper Sculptures. By designgallerist on March 8, 2013

CHINA---The line of white, classical busts in Li Hongbo's dusty Beijing studio could be used for drawing practice in any art classroom in the world. What had looked exactly like solid plaster is transformed into an amorphous worm. Neither plaster nor clay, the statues are concertinas of thousands upon thousands of fine pieces of paper. Li, who is showcasing some of his recent work at a New York gallery until early March, pastes glue in narrow strips across pieces of paper, which he stacks to the desired height. Born into a simple farming family, Li said he had always loved paper, invented in ancient China. Beyond his sculptures, he has spent six years producing a collection of books recording more than 1,000 years of Buddhist art on paper. [link]