I saw my first paper necklace almost thirty years ago at a German friend’s house. It delighted me with its originality and decorativeness, despite its simple form and natural rust color. As it turned out, it was made of paper, in which individual tools – hammers, pincers, etc. – were factory-packed. The paper was soaked in oil, which gave it the transparency and beauty of old parchment. It should be remembered that the words “recovery”, “recycling”, “upcycling” were unknown in our country at the time.

Years later, the paper was appreciated by many artists, including in our part of Europe. This is not surprising, because it can be smooth and textured, crumpled, torn, folded, thin and thick, white or colored, in all possible saturations of color. It can be written, printed, painted, handmade or industrially produced, it can also be recycled – I could go on for a long time listing all its qualities. At that time I discovered paper jewelry for the second time.

The selection of artists is an attempt to present a wealth of formal possibilities: from cool, disciplined geometric structures to an eruption of forms and colors….

Grazyna Brylewska

Curator of the exhibition