For Frieze New York, White Cube presents an exhibition exploring the many ways paper has been used in art, not solely as surface but as medium itself. The artists selected have embraced, reinterpreted, challenged or rejected traditional methods of working with this material; they have drawn, etched, coloured, stained, covered, cut, torn, folded, layered, burned or collaged the material, to strikingly different effect.
A natural material, the subtleties of colour and tone, differences in weave and texture, opacity or weight, porousness or resistance to other substances, are all qualities considered and activated by artists. Beyond this, they have used paper as readymade, whether in the form of a printed book, a newspaper or comic book. By utilising paper not simply as neutral surface serving as carrier of images but as versatile medium, the artists reveal its boundless potential, far beyond any traditionally ascribed function.
‘Works on paper’ as a category has historically been seen as the place for more experimental, less finished art. In this way paper has a democratic potential in that, whether engaged as painter, sculptor or working with installation, it is a constant in the practice of so many artists. Artists turn to paper when there is a need for that quiet space of reflection, the very act of working with it perhaps being a more physically intimate one. The proximity of eye to surface eliciting a different engagement it has, historically, afforded them a greater freedom for expression and scope for risk taking. As Richard Serra described it: ‘Drawing gives me an immediate return for my effort and the result is commensurate with my involvement. It is an activity that requires solitude, it is the most concentrated space in which I work.’
Artists presented include Ellen Altfest, Michael Armitage, Miroslaw Balka, Georg Baselitz, Julie Curtiss, Tracey Emin, Cerith Wyn Evans, Antony Gormley, David Hammons, Mona Hatoum, He Xiangyu, Al Held, Anselm Kiefer, Rachel Kneebone, Imi Knoebel, Jannis Kounellis, Sarah Morris, Christian Marclay, Julie Mehretu, Harland Miller, Damián Ortega, Virginia Overton, Magnus Plessen, Jessica Rankin, Richard Serra, Raqib Shaw, Haim Steinbach, Fred Tomaselli, Danh Vo.
