The Oakland International Airport // February 2, 2013

Paper Work: When Paper Becomes Art, curated by The Oakland Museum of California

 The exhibition Paper Work at the Oakland International Airport (OAK) highlights six Bay Area artists who work with paper. For some artists, paper is their primary medium. Others see paper as one of the many materials from which they choose to make their artworks.

Though the artists all share in the use of paper, each has their own vision and approach. Monica Canilao presents an intuitively composed paper quilt, which partly contains found paper and photographs from her recent stay in Detroit. Multidisciplinary artist Modesto Covarrubias reflects upon the light and structure of the space in his site-specific paper installation. Using recycled paper,Bianca Kolonusz-Partee fashions collages of international ports. For Goran Konjevod, paper is essential to his origami practice, designing extraordinarily complex and geometric shapes. Originally from Mongolia, Turburam Sandagdorj specializes in paper cut outs, typically creating images of his native land. Hadley Williams’s compositions aim to instill commercial paper products with more bodily and organic qualities.

While technology is shifting everything toward a digital and paper-less world, the artists in Paper Work still find value in the hands-on manipulation of paper, and infusing this age-old material with new meanings. A selection of photographs also explores the artists’ working space as a sanctuary for the development of creative ideas and techniques. Monica Canilao’s Oakland studio is filled from floor to ceiling with found objects and relics from travels, which she uses to create her artworks. In many ways her studio mirrors the imagery of her artwork. 

Paper Work is located in three areas of Oakland International Airport. The exhibit sites are located in Terminal 2 between gates 25 and 26, in Terminal 1 before the security checkpoint and in the connecting walkway between the two terminals.

February 2–June 7, 2013