“Eternal Paper” is an innovative show of hand papermaking that celebrates twenty world-renowned artists and the multitude of possibilities that exist in this expressive medium. Fittingly, this international exhibition was on display at the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) Arts Program Gallery, in Adelphi, Maryland, from October 22, 2023 to May 19, 2024, and will travel to the Paper Academy in Gilleleje, Denmark from July 13 to August 11, 2024.
It is curated by Helen C. Frederick, legendary as an artist, community activist, and founder of Pyramid Atlantic, a beloved printmaking center in Hyattsville, Maryland. Frederick’s creative vision allows her to deepen the public’s appreciation of hand papermaking. The artists included in this exhibition are: Maria Barbosa, Elsabé Johnson Dixon, Nicole Donnelly, Cheryl Edwards, Susan Firestone, Helen C. Frederick, Claudia “Aziza” Gibson-Hunter, Alexis Granwell, Ellen Hill, Ken Polinskie, Tongji Philip Qian, Randi Reiss-McCormack, Tara Sabharwal, Soledad Salamé, Preston Sampson, Gretchen Schermerhorn, Joyce J. Scott, Buzz Spector, Mary Ting, and Anne Vilsboell.
The elongated gallery space, a challenge to some curators, is activated in Frederick’s hands. Descending the stairway the viewer is greeted by an expansive range of work, from abstract pulp paintings to mixed media on flax, vibrant ink drawings on Japanese shikishi panels by Ken Polinskie to experimental works like Tongji Philip Qian’s Six Tenants with mambo sauce.
Maria Barbosa’s large-scale installation of her Social Skin series, printed digitally with Amazonian iconography, entices the viewer. More diminutive but equally intriguing is Buzz Spector’s Altered K. Masterful at unearthing revelations through his controlled process of rips and tears in a book, he unveils hidden pages, creating portals to what lies beneath. Spector points out, “Look at one of my altered books and you can see the torn edges of every sewn or perfect-bound sheet that formerly constituted its text block.”1
Preston Sampson’s piece, A Long Way Home, is a memorable example of the power of pulp to embed and deepen his reach. He notes, “Paper-pulp painting is not a work on paper; it is a work of paper.” In this haunting piece, a young girl appears to reveal her hidden self by parting leaves in what seems like an other-worldly vista.2 At first glance, Ellen Hill’s beautiful amalgamation of flowers, Flower Cloud 2, with collaged, painted paper and fabric appears to be a joyous bouquet. But, born during the time of COVID-19, it memorializes the loss of the artist’s mother and as she describes, “...includes flowers cut from my mother’s clothes. I could feel her slowly fading, and this piece was an attempt to hold onto and celebrate her life-affirming and loving energy.”3
Renowned artist Joyce C. Scott, often known for her multimedia beading and sculptural work, is represented here with four powerful pulp paintings. Faces fixed with intense expressions and a visceral energy appear to leap from the wall. In Suspended, a pulp painting on flax substrate, a powerful female form in bright red floats and hangs against a black shape evocative of home. In her inimitable voice, Scott writes, “My work speaks truth to power....working in hand papermaking allowed me to blend colors with a painterly approach and play with line, stencils and printing at the same time.4
As one comes to the gallery’s cavernous exit, Helen C. Frederick’s Healing Stones, a series of mixed media and flax in jeweled earth tones possesses equal amounts of tranquility and power.
She explains, “My work weaves together the personal and the communal....I use the tools and processes that I have come to understand best, but I am always available to the unpredictable.”5 This statement is evident in the groundbreaking experimental film that she and Shanti Norris created, which is presented in an adjacent meditative space. Referencing a Buddhist ritual of cleansing, sounds of nature are beautifully blended in this hypnotic film that seems to mimic the process of papermaking. Frederick’s face is slowly revealed behind a screen as liquid substances are splashed and drip to unveil her quietly blinking eye.
For those unable to attend in person, a stunning catalog designed by Jennifer Norris honors each artist and celebrates hand papermaking.6 A series of ten separate films pairs the contributing artists in deep discussion (ranging from 20 to 50 minutes each).7 The films and catalog add a thoughtful and fascinating dimension to this show. Both resources are works of art themselves and create an eternal record of a magnificent show. “Eternal Paper” is an artistic and curatorial tour-de-force. While the title may seem ironic for a medium often considered ephemeral, this show will live well beyond its installation date and its travels to Denmark through the memories of all who are fortunate enough to experience it.
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notes
- Excerpt from “I Stack Things, I Tear Stuff Up,” by Buzz Spector, in the exhibition catalog Buzz Spector, Shelf Life: Selected Work (St. Louis, MO: Bruno David Gallery, 2010). Reprinted with permission in the exhibition catalog Eternal Paper (Adelphi, MD: University of Maryland Global Campus Arts Program, 2023), 48.
- Preston Sampson in Eternal Paper exhibition catalog, 42.
- Ellen Hill in Eternal Paper exhibition catalog, 30.
- Joyce C. Scott in Eternal Paper exhibition catalog, 46.
- Helen C. Frederick in Eternal Paper exhibition catalog, 24.
- Editor’s note: The Eternal Paper exhibition catalog, out of print, is downloadable online at https://issuu.com/umucachiever/docs/eternal-paper-exhihibition-catalog (accessed September 2, 2024).
- The artist films are viewable online on the UMGC Arts Talk page, https://www.umgc.edu/administration/arts-and-diversity/arts/talks (accessed May 15, 2024).
