Gothic Glory on Paper

Eric Standley’s ground-breaking creations have brought viewers closer to 12th-century artistry, while also breaking barriers and completely revolutionising paper art.

Have you ever entered an imposing gothic church and felt absolutely overwhelmed by its beauty and by a feeling of reverence inspired by the lacelike work on stone and stained-glass windows? On the other hand, have you ever visited a Moorish palace and found yourself standing in awe, staring at the incredibly elaborate and exquisite decoration of walls, windows and patios? Inevitably, this makes us wonder at the amazing genius, creativity and artistic skills of mankind and, particularly, of all those involved in the building of such admirable sites.

The Alphabet of Wonder

“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web”, stated the celebrated painter Pablo Picasso about the source of inspiration for his artworks. Curiously enough, these words seem to fit like a glove the awesome art pieces produced by another Pablo: Pablo Lehmann.

Born and based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pablo Lehmann uses words and paper to produce masterpieces of art that feed our minds, seize our senses and arrest our emotions. Unlike other artists using the same medium – paper –, Lehmann has adopted an approach in which he works layered paper and synthetic cloth to create massive letter-based installations which vary from cut-outs to huge wall-hangings of extreme beauty and astounding originality.

Flying on the Wings of Dreams

“Throw your dreams into space like a kite and you do not know what it will bring back...” once said Anaïs Nin, the French-born novelist and short story writer most widely known for her Journals. Now think of the enthusiastic kite flying competitions in which kids excel to present the most beautiful gears and to show their skills and expertise at handling them.