Waving a looking glass over the finer things in life, O3 Gallery in Oxford Castle Quarter is currently housing an intricate exhibition called One Thousand Cranes highlighting work by contemporary fine artists and craftspeople working with paper. Taking the familiar sight of fancy greeting cards and the traditional and familiar craft of origami to a whole new level, the exhibition looks simply beautiful and continues until 27th April 2014. Go take a look…

Accompanying the exhibition is a Paper Cutting Demonstration by local artist Christine Green, whose work is also being exhibited as part of One Thousand Cranes. The demonstration is taking place this Sunday 13th April from 1 to 3pm in O3 Gallery.

Other exhibiting artists include: Anderson M Studio, Louisa Boyd, Anine Bosenberg, Sarah Dennis, Kate Hipkiss, Anna Howarth, Astrid Jaekel, Davy and Kristin McGuire, Su Owen, Brigitte Parusel and Callum Russell. Each artist explores the sculptural and/or graphic possibilities of paper whilst playfully reimagining the conventional uses of the medium as a marked surface; and according to O3 Gallery, these artists are amongst the UK’s “leading” artists currently working in the medium of paper from contemporary paper-cutting, origami and kirigami.

Whilst examining the various methods and techniques, both traditional and innovative that characterise paper art, the exhibition reflects upon the ancient art of origami taking it’s title from the belief that folding one thousand origami cranes bestows eternal good luck on the folder (a practiced often exercised by engaged couples with the cranes used as decorations on their wedding day).

Whilst this exhibition is grounded in traditional paper manipulation techniques it has been curated in such a way so as to consciously explore and examine how such methods of making can function and thrive within contemporary art practice and its wider cultural content.

… Visitors to the exhibition are also invited to take an origami crane home with them! Lovely!