Georgia Russell at the National Museum of Women in the Arts

Paper Routes - Women to Watch 2020

Paper Routes, the sixth installment in National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C Women to Watch exhibition series, showcases contemporary artists working in paper. The 22 committees participating in this exhibition worked with curators in their respective regions to create shortlists of artists working with paper. Featured artists in Paper Routes respond to the many uses and cultural associations of paper—from protest signs to packaging, lottery tickets, and wallpaper—approaching the medium in varied ways. Some highlight the delicate properties of paper through meticulous cuts, resulting in elaborate forms, patterns, and designs. Others compact and consolidate the material, forming surprisingly dense and monumental sculptures. Artists rely on traditional as well as innovative techniques. Paper Routes highlights and celebrates this diversity of approaches and the transformation of this ubiquitous and eclectic material into complex works of art.

Georgia Russell is presented in the section of silhouettes, which looks back on a long tradition in paper art. In addition to silhouettes developed in 18th-century France and works brought to colonial America by German immigrants, we find Georgia's works: she meticulously cuts, dissects, and reconstructs old books, sheet music, maps, and other printed materials into lush, drilled sculptures and grid-like cutouts
 
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