Paper Dialogues: The Dragon and Our Stories

On view February 19-July 10

Enter the world of dragons through this internationally acclaimed exhibition.

What began as a modest collaboration between two papercutting artists, Karen Bit Vejle (Denmark) and Professor Xiaoguang Qiao (China) has become an international traveling exhibition and conversation that has reached all corners of the globe. Joined by British Island of Jersey artists Layla May Arthur and Emma Reid, the Paper Dialogues artists explore the intersections between their cultures and traditions through intricate papercutting works, an art form that traces its roots back more than 1500 years.

Bit and Qiao’s collaboration first began over a decade ago. Able to communicate only through the help of interpreters, the two artists shared a silent dialogue during a visit in Bejing, where their scissors were their means of communication. Bit was enamored by the various paper cutting traditions Professor Qiao shared from across regions of China, and Professor Qiao was captivated by Bit’s artistic style, so different from his own. From this first visit, they decide that the mystical creature, the dragon, which has a strong representation in each of their cultures, was to be the symbol that links their works and their lands.

“The collaboration has been a learning process. We haven’t been able to talk directly to one another, but we have decoded each other and created a different kind of dialogue. I feel that I have seen his heart – that we look into each other's soul.” — Bit

This is not Bit’s first time exhibiting at ASI – visitors may recognize Bit’s style from her 2014 ASI

Karen Bit Vejle

exhibition, Papercut! The Incredible Psaligraphy of Karen Bit Vejle.

In this newest exhibition, Bit’s seven intricate white dragon eggs bring visitors along a journey through time — beginning with the Norse tree of life, yggdrasil, through early Norwegian society, the Viking Age, modern day, and ending with the future, to be inspired by tales of what we protect and imagine for tomorrow.

Professor Qiao came to the art of papercutting after his studies at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. His 30-foot long, multi-colored piece “Fish and Dragon Change” features a traditional character in Chinese folklore to examine the changes occurring in his home country today. The head of the dragon reflects that from the Middle Ages, but as you travel down the body of DNA chains you arrive at the fiery tail of a Phoenix being reborn.

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Professor Xiaoguang Qiao

“Traditional paper-cutting became an awakening and an inspiration, both for my cultural awareness and my artistic expression.” — Professor Qiao

ASI is the second U.S. stop in the world-tour of Paper Dialogues. Since its fi rst premiere in Beijing, the dragons have made their way through Shanghai, Norway, the British island of Jersey, and the National Nordic Museum in Seattle, Washington. It was during the stop in the British Island of Jersey that a collaboration with ArtHouse Jersey led to Emma Reid and Layla May Arthur adding their works to the dialogue, representing the story of their beloved island through their own unique paper works.

Paper Dialogues will be joined by ASI’s newest Family Gallery, Our Dragon Story (see pages 1213), and Thermal: Meditations on Climate Change, an exhibition of movement, form and sound set in the historic Turnblad Mansion. Thermal is an interdisciplinary installation featuring local artist Kim Heidkamp’s sculptural paper artwork sprawls from the ballroom stage across the fl oor, much like creature of Norse mythology asleep in the landscape. Scores by composer Joshua Clausen and choreography by Mathew Janczewski of ARENA Dances activate the work and pull in the viewer in.

Paper Dialogues is produced in partnership with the Museum for Papirkunst and ArtHouse Jersey. The exhibition is presented by Fredrikson & Byron. Major support provided by the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, the late Karin Larson, and ASI’s members and donors. Additional support provided by Minnesota Center for Book Arts. The exhibition’s media partner is the Star Tribune.

Exhibition Events

First Look: Paper Dialogues

Fri, February 18, 6–9 pm Be among the first to experience this worldclass exhibition at ASI’s Friday night preview party. Features the world-premiere of Thermal.

Thermal Live Performances

Fridays & Saturdays, February 25–March 19, 7–8 pm Live performance of Thermal featuring the sculptural paper artwork of Kim Heidkamp, choreography by Mathew Janczewski of ARENA Dances, and scores by composer Joshua Clausen.

Register now at asimn.org

The Morning Dip Photography by Peggy Anderson

July 21–October 30 The coastal village of Torekov, Sweden, is known for both its local pier, as well as for a curious ritual. Each day, locals wake for a morning dip in the sea. Of the unwritten codes of conduct related to this activity, perhaps most important is the selection of one’s bathrobe. Through large format photography, Paris-based American-Swedish artist Peggy Anderson explores this longstanding ritual, as well as her own relationship to a country where she lived as a child and now spends every summer. The exhibition comes to ASI this July.