Folding Paper: The Infinite Possibilities of Origami

Folding Paper is a groundbreaking exhibition that explores the evolution of origami from craft to fine art and its stunning modern-day applications in the fields of mathematics, engineering, design, and the global peace movement. Works by 45 master folders from around the world—from countries as diverse as Japan, the United States, Uruguay, and Russia—showcase the power and potential of contemporary origami. In these artists’ hands, paper is a medium for infinite creativity. The works range from lifelike and representational to mathematical and computer-generated to lyrical and abstract to social and political.

The exhibition’s four sections illustrate the transformation of origami into its current vehicle for artistic, scientific, and spiritual expression:

• The History of Origami
• Animals and Angels: Representations of Real and Imagined Realms
• Angles and Abstractions: Geometric Forms and Conceptual Constructions
• Inspirational Origami: Impact on Science, Industry, Fashion, and Beyond

Folding Paper was developed by independent curator, author, and educator Meher McArthur, former curator of East Asian Art at Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, California. Dr. Robert J. Lang, Folding Paper artist and physicist, serves as exhibition advisor, and he and McArthur co-authored the exhibition catalog. Lang is recognized as one of the world’s leading masters of paper folding, and a pioneer of the marriage of origami with mathematics and science.

Folding Paper is curated by Meher McArthur with tour organized by the Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, and International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC. The exhibition was generously supported by the E. Rhodes & Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.