Vincent Tomczyk was never really comfortable drawing. But when an instructor of his asked his class to make something three-dimensional, out of paper, he took to the idea. Maybe it was his experience working for a corrugated cardboard manufacturer and box maker, he says, or the coffee table he built with his dad when he was young. Either way, something clicked.
"I was comfortable in that idea of making something out of paper, and more importantly, something dimensional," says Tomczyk.
The result, a body of work developed over the last three years, is a series of iconic objects, recreated in high (but not quite perfect) detail, out of paper. And a set of new pieces, including the bench seen above, will be featured in Tomczyk's upcoming show, opening May 4 at Gallery 825 in Los Angeles. His show is called Overlooked, because it would be easy to mistake his "Museum Bench," say, for an actual museum bench.
That not-quite-perfect detail is important, says Tomczyk. His work relies on hovering at that point where the viewer knows it's paper, but can almost trick himself into believing it's something else.
"If something looks realistic enough, we may just disregard it altogether," says Tomczyk. "I only want it to be believable enough for people to pause, and then make some kind of emotional connection with that piece."
"I think that people like to be kind of tricked, in a way, and then they immediately like to try to figure out why," he continues. "That interaction, I think, is kind of a neat thing to give the viewer ... That's the thing that keeps people coming back, and makes a relationship."
To get the effect, he starts by building the piece's form out of foam core and chipboard. Then he laminates them with paper — the type of paper changes depending on the look he wants — and paints it by hand. Many of the details are paper as well; for his Bergère chair, he hand-weaved thin paper strips to replicate caning. For others, he incorporates other elements; he actually used needle and thread to sew the seams on his jean shorts. But in all cases, he uses the paper itself to give the old, distressed look.
"I kind of allow the paper to make its little mistakes, because I’ve learned that fighting that is futile," he says.
All photos courtesy of Vincent Tomczyk.
H/T: Colossal
