French Artist's Intricate Origami
Eric Joisel is considered by his peers to have been among the finest origami masters in the world. This beloved French artist and sculptor created stunningly beautiful and complex sculpted origami paper models. Origami is the Japanese art of forming sculptures out of paper only. And Eric Joisel took this to a whole new level. His pieces are not regular origami models, but completely different interpretations of a very ancient art form.
Most of Eric's models are three dimensional and lifelike in appearance. Eric could spend more than 100-hours folding a single piece of paper in order to create his amazing pieces of art. "Origami is very difficult", he said. "When people ask how long it takes me to make a sculpture I say '35 years', because that is how long it's taken me to get to this level."
“I have worked in clay, stone and wood before working in paper. I prefer creating human figures more than animals. Before I was able to attempt folding a complete human figure, I practiced making masks and faces for many years. This was more than just production, it was the process of breathing life into the paper and most importantly, partially improvising with every model so that each one was distinctive. This is different than traditional origami where every step is exactly defined so that folders could produce accurate copies. All my models are completely unique.”
Since 1984, Eric showcased his origami art in international exhibitions around the world from the Louvre to Japan and Seattle.
Eric Joisel's passing at the young age of fifty-three shocked and grieved thousands of people around the world. The New York Times, Daily Telegraph and the London Times lauded his career and achievements. Colleagues and friends from Europe, the Middle East and North America attended his internment in Enghien-les-Bains just outside of Paris. But "The Magician of Origami" left us perhaps with the best trick of his thirty-five year career in origami art: his entire inventory of models and work had been completely sold out. Eric often referred to his models as "his children". He was very pleased that they had all left home and would be well cared for while he was gone.
You can visit his website here and see all of his works.
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