When viewing Susan Share’s latest exhibition at the Kenai Fine Arts Center, it’s hard to believe that the work is almost all made with just paper.
Starting Thursday, Share’s exhibition, “InFormal Nature,” will be on display until June 29. The show, which is free to the public, will feature a number of pop-up pieces, sculptures, books, bindings and work that incorporates moveable parts, magnets and hinges.
Share said that most of the pieces have some element of folding and collapsing, hiding and revealing. It’s the motion of paper and books that Share said initially attracted her to this specific medium of art.
“I love movement. You can see it in multi-dimensions, and multiple shapes. It’s all about the movement for me,” Share said.
This will be Share’s first time showing her art at the Kenai Fine Arts Center.
“We’ve never had a show that is this, frankly, unique and wonderful. Susan’s work is extraordinary,” Marion Nelson, vice president of the Kenai Fine Arts Center board, said.
Share is based in Anchorage where she teaches at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and does commision work from her studio. She’s lived in Alaska for more than 20 years, and before that spent 20 years living in New York City. While living in New York City, Share studied bookmaking and book restoration, and worked in book conservation at the Watson Library in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, at the New York Historical Society and at the Brooklyn Museum.
Share said the techniques she gained in repairing paper, book structure, book history and book making have all been applied to her work as an artist.
One of Share’s newest series will be a part of the show. A series she calls “Threeology” explores patterns and sculptures based on the shape of the number three. The inspiration came after Share’s stepson gave her a building number sign he found. The sign is physically incorporated into one of the pieces in the series.
“I feel like I’m math and science oriented in my approach. It gives me a format, and you can do so much within it,” Share said.
On June 30, the day after the show closes, Share will also be conducting a box-making workshop. For those interested, registration for the class ends Saturday.
The opening reception for “InFormal Nature” is from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Kenai Fine Art Center, 816 Cook Ave. in Kenai. The show runs until June 29.
