Paper Perfection of Jeff Nishinaka

Using paper to create fantastic artworks is hardly a new thing, though some practitioners really are exemplary craftsmen, not least Jeff Nishinaka. Using very simple tools, tweezers, cutting mats, French curves & triangles, mechanical pencil, toothpicks, art knives and round wooden dowel for curving edges, for 30 years this amazing man has been perfecting his techniques, his wonderful 3-D artworks are a testament to his ability.
Jeff has worked for many household names in the USA, including Coca-Cola, Playboy, Mattel, Toyota, American Airlines and Bloomingdales. Most loyal fan and avid collector of his work is film star Jackie Chan, who owns the largest private collection. Disney Characters found in movie The Lion King got accurately reproduced on the snow white paper he always uses, along with many other incredible images.

Jeff, based in Los Angeles, loves working with white paper, the extra dimension given by light and shadow of extra importance where white backgrounds are concerned, though not. all of his work is done by this method. Be they exquisite medical illustrations of eye structures life-size hotel gardens or even commissioned portraiture, his artistry and enthusiasm are both boundless and infectious, level of detail in his sculptural works quite breathtaking, whatever the subject matter, and he is undoubtedly the premier paper sculpture artist alive.

Jeff conjures up the most intricate sculptures, using nothing more than the tools mentioned and the white paper, which makes the task of believing that they are actually two dimensional work more difficult, simply because his skilful layering and use of subdued lighting gives them an amazing three dimensional feel.
His quite brilliant sculptures often have the appearance of having been fashioned from Styrofoam, fine sand, or marble but paper is his only medium , and having been productive and prolific in advertising and fashion, as well as fine art, his full time art production these days employs only 100% Cotton Vellum paper, to avoid discoloration or deterioration with aging.

Jeff could have chosen any medium, like clay, but picked chose paper, making a fish sculpture and quickly developing a feel for working with paper. He began experimenting with different kinds, finding ways to shape, bend, and round edges on them
It can take as little as three days to several months to produce each individual piece, varying in size from nine in square many times bigger, famously creating several large installations. An artistic career spanning 30 years, with clients as prestigious as Paramount Pictures, Harvard Medical School, Random House, and Mattel, for whom he designed beautiful, custom Barbie sets, Jeff is definitely a big name in the world of art. Teasing the absolute best from his chosen art material he produces work that enrapture every onlooker, time standing still as you view his awesomely compelling work. What an incredible talent.