I am interested in shape and form, and their relationships. Positive and negative space are my playground.
Each piece of original cut paper art is carefully cut by hand. Inspiration guides the knife. No sketching, no planning. The story develops as paper is excised.
Artist Statement
For me, making cut paper art is purely a voyage of discovery. Each time I sit in front of a blank piece of white paper I direct the razor’s edge as it excises my delight, anguish, longing and humor; I reach for meaning, clarity or closure. My only purpose is to enjoy the process – and I do, wholeheartedly.
In a world where the literal dominates, my process is one of developing relationships between what I remove and what is left behind. The act of cutting paper is akin to how I live my life – there is no eraser, no second chance, only indelible choices. Each day, a new page. And most importantly, there is no sketch or plan. The result often surprises me; from that I derive much joy.
Welcome to my heart, my brain, my imagination.
I use #11 X-Acto blades and cut until the very sharp point loses its edge, then discard for a fresh blade. One piece could easily require 4-5 blades to complete. My favorite choice of paper is a brilliant white lithograph printing paper. the heavy stock holds an edge well, and when a filigreed piece is done, it can be handled (albeit carefully) without tearing.
All art on this site is available for sale, unless otherwise noted. All can be custom-framed or sold without framing.
I currently live and work in Westchester, New York.
I am available for commissioned works, including illustration, fashion and installations. In addition, I am currently looking for more gallery spaces that would suit my work.
Other biographical information:
I have a personal blog focused on Music, Photography, Geekdom and Marketing, where the large variety of interests that pass through me sometimes get their own space to live on the internet. I’m narrowly-focused on what I do at the moment, but broadly interested in many things in life.
Over the years, my life has been interesting and full. From the start I was exposed to art in my family – my mother had a black-and-white darkroom in our bathroom when I was a kid, and she has pursued sculpture, art history and watercolor painting. My grandparents owned and ran The Ark II in Flemington, NJ for over 30 years, specializing in wildlife art and custom framing. In high school, I got my own 35mm SLR as a gift for Christmas, and my love for photography was born. I was photo editor and photographer for the school rag and took that passion to Denmark where I lived as an exchange student for a year, ‘93-94. I shot and processed 400 feet of hand-rolled Ilford FP4 35mm film inthe Maribo Gymnasium darkroom, where I practically lived when I wasn’t soaking up Danish culture with my friends. I also taught myself to play guitar in Denmark and even was in a band with my friends at school (not the first or last I’ve been in, and I still continue to write, play and enjoy music).
Upon my return to the USA, I got a job at a local high-end photo store where I sold cameras and eventually ran the color lab while attending college for photography. I also dug into studies of English, sociology, printmaking and lithography – where I fell in love with the Kodalith process on the monstrous copy camera. The stark black- or white-only negatives ticked something over in my mind, and it stuck.
I took a job at Sinar Bron Imaging as a tech support specialist and consignment manager shortly afterward while finishing school and later moved on to Mamiya America Corporation, now MAC Group – and to this day I still happily work there (11 years later). Working with professional photographers is inspiring, to say the least. I am currently the Marketing Communications Manager and specialize in Web Marketing, Management and Advertising.
My cut paper art is both a result and process of my life. At times, it has been a method to maintain sanity – an outlet for the bumps in the road in life – and at other times, a driving force for expression that differs from other pursuits like photography (which can be quite literal at times). Getting off a computer and away from all things mechanical to a basic, analog medium allows for a massive freedom, and I enjoy it immensely.
Other links:
MattHillPhoto.com
UltimateHill.com
YouTube
Flickr
