As part of this year’s SCOPE NY art show, Black Book Gallery presented stunning hand cut paper works by artists Hari & Deepti. The creative couple, based out of Denver, Colorado, each brings to the table different skill sets. Hari, whose full name is Harikrishnan Panicker, is a trained graphic designer and illustrator while Deepti Nair specializes in paper cut art. After experimenting with paper cut shadow boxes in 2010, they started to incorporate light to their works. Now, they’re known for their unique style of adding flexible LED strip lights to their intricate papercut pieces.
“Paper is brutal in its simplicity as a medium,” they state. “It demands the attention of the artist while it provides the softness they need to mold it in to something beautiful. It is playful, light, colorless and colorful. It is minimal and intricate. It reflects light, creates depth and illusions in a way that it takes the artist through a journey with limitless possibilities.”
“What amazes us about the paper cut light boxes is the dichotomy of the piece in its lit and unlit state, the contrast is so stark that it has this mystical effect on the viewers.”
Black Book Gallery website
Photos via [HiFructose, Black Book Gallery]