The thriving world of paper art and all the rich and diverse creative art works that paper artists create across the globe are truly exciting and amaze me daily! As a paper artist, I feel connected with those who use paper as their premium medium and work intensely with this material in an obsessive and devoted fashion. Nathalie Boutté is definitely an artist with this kind of devotion to paper, for her art pieces are created by hundreds and thousands of paper cut strips.

Nathalie Boutté is a talented, self taught, French based artist that has been playing with paper from origami, pop-ups till kirigami since childhood. There is no day that goes by without her handling paper. In order to create her exquisite paper art pieces, Boutté begins by densely layering long narrow strips of paper into a feather-like texture.

The exposed tips of each strip acts as pixels, forming the larger image. From up close it may be difficult to depict her design, but once stepping backwards you are amazed by the incredible image it reveals.

Her choice of paper varies from recycled paper, book pages, gold sheets and translucent tracing paper, sometimes worked on with Indian ink. Boutté’s subject matters are mostly people and portraits (African). During the past year, many of her art pieces have featured white, grey and black shades, while some of her former works were adorned with colors. When I look at her work, I get this incredible urge to stroke and pet them, probably as a result of the soft and fragile feel they eradiate.

Nathalie Boutté’s paper art will be displayed in two upcoming (paper)group exhibitions in France and Switzerland, at the beginning of the New Year:

“Le papier dans tous ses états” in Galerie “A l’Ecu de France at Viroflay, France, running from January 9th to February 9th 2014

And Artgenève, Salon international d’art, Palexpo Switzerland, from January 30th to February 2nd 2014.

If you are living nearby, you are a lucky person to be able to attend these exhibitions! Envy you!