ARTIST STATEMENT
My paper sculptures are inspired by our natural and domestic worlds. They begin with a daily practice of paying attention to my environment, both indoors and outdoors. I photograph my observations to revisit when drafting my forms and imagine translating them into sculpture. Examples include lichen, stains, spills, ice, reflections, and shadows. I never intend to replicate them, but this helps me create more specific, exciting shapes. My understanding of space and form is also intertwined with my experiences as the child of a ceramic artist (Randy O’Brien).
I often cut holes into my sculptures, out of a desire to expose the inner, hollow space and the delicate walls which create it. These sculptures are the result of intensive, but joyful, experimentation with material; my work is about process as much as product. I tear pieces of mulberry paper, chosen for its soft, translucent fibers. Using glue, I layer the torn paper over distorted balloons. I then cut and assemble these dried shapes, exploring various possibilities for presentation—hanging them, building my own stands, using found objects, or shaping the paper to support itself.
I seek out the tactile and the handmade, because I believe in the importance of intentionally slowing ourselves down in our modern, stimulant-heavy world. This process gives my sculptures a sense of personality and autonomy. They feel alive, almost animal, yet they exist in a domestic, indoor space. I have always been interested in the abstract and ambiguous, what resides in the in-between spaces.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
After growing up in the Sonoran Desert, Avery O’Brien moved to the Midwest to attend Knox College, where she recently earned B.A. degrees in both Studio Art and Creative Writing. She spent the first three years of her college education studying two-dimensional mediums, such as oil painting and analog photography, before discovering a passion for sculpture. Driven by her belief in the significance of play and a fixation with translucent paper, she has thrown herself into an exploration of three-dimensional form. This year of investigation culminated in her senior thesis show, Membrane (May 2025), a collaborative, two-artist exhibition with Ellie Krueger. While at Knox, O’Brien also received funding from the Power of Experience Grant and Richter Memorial Fund to keep creating artwork. She is currently based in Galesburg, IL, where she continues to explore the limits of paper sculpture.
© Avery O’Brien