**Winner of the 2017 Florence Temko Innovation Award**
This origami art book features the work of 25 contemporary master folders who are among the most innovative origami artists working today. They are pushing the boundaries of origami vigorously in new directions concerning style, scale, materials, subject and scope. This elite group includes: The stunning photos and brilliant essays in this book demonstrate why origami is now an international art movement--largely through the efforts and artistic genius of a few contemporary masters. The trailblazing efforts of Japanese artist Akira Yoshizawa elevated the paper folding to an art form by showing how subtle shapes and figures could be created from a single sheet of paper through a variety of non-traditional folding techniques.
Artists in other parts of the world--including the United States, France, England, China and Scandinavia--took Yoshizawa's cue and pushed these techniques further and further. The result has been the emergence of many new and surprising sculptural forms created through methods such as wet folding, curved creasing, tessellating and the application of alternative materials besides paper.
The stunning photography and interesting information on artists, exhibitions and inspirations, makes this the perfect coffee table book or gift for any art lover.
A beautiful celebration of origami as a true art form
This book is not a guide to folding techniques—and it doesn't try to be. Instead, it's a stunning tribute to how origami has evolved over the years and to the visionary artists who pushed it into the realm of fine art.
Even if you've never folded a single crane, this book will captivate you with extraordinary creations by 25 contemporary master folders. In many ways, it feels like an Origamipedia—a vibrant chronicle of the people, ideas, methods, and inspirations that shaped modern paper-folding.
I found myself lingering over every page. While I admired all the artists featured, the works of Tomoko Fuse, Hoang Tien Quyet, Beth Johnson, Robert J. Lang, and Jun Mitani especially stood out to me. Their pieces are breathtaking, each offering a unique take on style, technique, and imagination.
The photography is gorgeous, the essays insightful, and the overall presentation makes this a perfect coffee-table book for artists, creatives, and anyone who loves beautiful things. It's inspiring, visually rich, and a wonderful celebration of what can be achieved with a simple sheet of paper.
Loved reading this—highly recommended for origami enthusiasts and art lovers alike.
My mother used to fold a piece of paper into a flat, vaguely hexagonal shape. Then, she'd blow gently into one small opening at the end, and the force of her breath would cause the paper to inflate into a tiny ball. I never undertook origami, but I've never forgotten how amazing it was to me that she could do that. And now, I'm vastly amazed by the non pareil talent of the paper-folders - they deserve every syllable of the words scupltor and artist - whose work is on display in this book. You're way too jaded if you're not wowed by, for example, a piece of origami that employs perhaps three folds and yet is so clearly a person in repose, or the pieces that are full-sized installments involving thousands of painstaking creases in metres of paper. Get it, read it, revel in it!