Atlanta Botanical Garden & Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Atlanta, GA & Winchester, VA
Jennifer and Kevin Box, Master Peace.
The delicate nature of folded paper meets the massive stature of metal sculpture in two traveling exhibitions created by Santa Fe artists Jennifer and Kevin Box. Origami in the Garden, on display at the Atlanta Botanical Garden through October 16, features 18 installations of nearly 70 metal sculptures inspired by origami, the centuries-old Japanese art of folding paper. In the artists’ largest display to date are monumental sculptures—made from paper and wax fabricated into cast-metal pieces—of flying birds, emerging butterflies, blooming flowers, grazing deer, and other flora and fauna themes.
A highlight of the exhibition is their most ambitious work yet, MASTER PEACE, a 25-foot-tall monument depicting 1,000 stainless-steel origami cranes, recognized worldwide as a symbol of peace. The monument is composed of 500 cranes, while the other 500 are scattered around the world in individual collections and represented in the exhibit by reflections in the garden fountain.
- Kevin Box, Beth Johnson, Jennifer Box, Michael G. LaFosse, and Robert J. Lang, Scents of Gratitude.
- Kevin Box and Michael G. LaFosse, Seed Sower. Kevin Box and Beth Johnson, Seed.
- Kevin Box and Te Jui Fu, Painted Ponies.
Meanwhile, a second traveling exhibition, on display at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, VA, through November 13, features 12 monumental metal sculptures in multiple displays throughout the formal gardens.
The exhibitions feature the Boxes’ own compositions as well as collaborations with world-renowned origami artists Robert J. Lang, Te Jui Fu, Beth Johnson, and Michael G. LaFosse. A highlight at both shows is Inside Out, an educational exhibit featuring original paper models and unfolded wall hangings showing the internal architecture of each piece.
Kevin, whose background is in papermaking, printmaking, and graphic design, says that staging the shows in public gardens is a natural fit. “Origami is made from paper, and paper is made from plants, so in a lot of ways that ties into a botanical garden’s mission,” says the artist, who spent part of his early career working in an Atlanta foundry.
- Kevin Box and Robert J. Lang, Flying Folds.
- Kevin Box, Perennial Peace.
- Kevin Box, Hero’s Horse.
Through a 35-step, 12-week-plus lost-wax casting technique, the team applies wax to folded paper and creates molds of individual shapes that are welded together to fabricate sculptures that are cast in bronze, aluminum, or stainless steel. It’s a process that Kevin spent years developing to capture all the details of folded paper. The environmentally conscious artists use recycled metal in the majority of the casting process for the sculptures, all of which are themselves 100 percent recyclable. Key to the creative process is teamwork with foundries, fabrication shops, studio staff, and origami artists. He likens the collaboration to a rock band, in which all the musicians work together to create the sound.
When asked what he hopes viewers take from the work, Kevin answers, “Inspiration, I think, is always the obvious answer. Is the work connecting with the viewer, and can they find an inspiring story within it? And so most of the work is layered like an onion skin, beginning with the aesthetic or first impression. Then there’s a title. Then there’s a medium. And then there’s a story. The work is designed to meet someone at every level—from the superficial to the spiritual.” —Beth Williams
contact information
505.471.4688
www.origamiinthegarden.com
This story appeared in the October/November 2022 issue of Southwest Art magazine.