Michael Velliquette
Paper Sculptor
American, b. 1971
Based in Madison, WI
(He/him/his)
Web: www.velliquette.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelvelliquette/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shootin_the_sheet/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelvelliquettepaper
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU_3Vh65YlDsIZLE8M1ebtg
Michael Velliquette is an artist who makes intricately constructed paper-based sculpture. Velliquette makes use of a humble, everyday material to open a view into imagined worlds.
Velliquette redefines the unassuming nature of paper by constructing objects that convey strength, intent, and durability, but which also require conscious observation and care. They are at once abstract layers and shapes made from colored paper, and also structures that from one moment to the next suggest fortress-like constructions, tiered mandalas, or complex mechanical gears. Cut exclusively and assembled by hand, Velliquette’s works can take up to 500 hours to complete.
In his recent series of paper cuts, composed of single sheets of paper, carefully sliced and folded, the artist emphasizes the physics of light, and the way a simple fold, lifted at a variety of angles from the surface, reveals myriad shadows, forms, and openings. Like his larger constructions, the paper cut works retain a mandala-like quality, as if carved in relief on a panel of a door or a box. Where the more built-up sculptures capitalize on the material’s strength, flexibility, and capacity to be easily molded, the paper cuts are pared down, vulnerable, fleshy in comparison. Thus we are invited to consider the surface and material thinness of the paper itself, where every detail of every incision is distinguishable, and there’s little telling what mysteries lie beyond.
Bio
A working artist for 20 years, Velliquette has participated in over 150 exhibitions in museums and galleries in the US, Europe and Asia. His work is in the permanent collections of the Chazen Museum of Art; the San Antonio Museum of Art; the Art Museum of South Texas; the Racine Art Museum; The Progressive Corporation; The John Michael Kohler Art Center; and The Microsoft Collection. He has participated in residencies and cultural exchange programs including the Artpace International Artist-in-Residence; the SÍM Residency, Reykjavik; the John Michael Kohler Art/Industry program; and EUARCA, Kassel, Germany. He will be a resident artist in 2021 at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Velliquette is also a member of the Guild of American Papercutters and the Paper Artist Collective. He is the host of "Shootin' the Sheet" an IGTV channel featuring conversations with notable figures in the paper art world.
Paper Sculptor
American, b. 1971
Based in Madison, WI
(He/him/his)
Web: www.velliquette.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelvelliquette/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shootin_the_sheet/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelvelliquettepaper
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU_3Vh65YlDsIZLE8M1ebtg
Michael Velliquette is an artist who makes intricately constructed paper-based sculpture. Velliquette makes use of a humble, everyday material to open a view into imagined worlds.
Velliquette redefines the unassuming nature of paper by constructing objects that convey strength, intent, and durability, but which also require conscious observation and care. They are at once abstract layers and shapes made from colored paper, and also structures that from one moment to the next suggest fortress-like constructions, tiered mandalas, or complex mechanical gears. Cut exclusively and assembled by hand, Velliquette’s works can take up to 500 hours to complete.
In his recent series of paper cuts, composed of single sheets of paper, carefully sliced and folded, the artist emphasizes the physics of light, and the way a simple fold, lifted at a variety of angles from the surface, reveals myriad shadows, forms, and openings. Like his larger constructions, the paper cut works retain a mandala-like quality, as if carved in relief on a panel of a door or a box. Where the more built-up sculptures capitalize on the material’s strength, flexibility, and capacity to be easily molded, the paper cuts are pared down, vulnerable, fleshy in comparison. Thus we are invited to consider the surface and material thinness of the paper itself, where every detail of every incision is distinguishable, and there’s little telling what mysteries lie beyond.
Bio
A working artist for 20 years, Velliquette has participated in over 150 exhibitions in museums and galleries in the US, Europe and Asia. His work is in the permanent collections of the Chazen Museum of Art; the San Antonio Museum of Art; the Art Museum of South Texas; the Racine Art Museum; The Progressive Corporation; The John Michael Kohler Art Center; and The Microsoft Collection. He has participated in residencies and cultural exchange programs including the Artpace International Artist-in-Residence; the SÍM Residency, Reykjavik; the John Michael Kohler Art/Industry program; and EUARCA, Kassel, Germany. He will be a resident artist in 2021 at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Velliquette is also a member of the Guild of American Papercutters and the Paper Artist Collective. He is the host of "Shootin' the Sheet" an IGTV channel featuring conversations with notable figures in the paper art world.
