Untitled, 2015 - Offset print, clip

Untitled, 2022 - Offset print, glue, wax

Untitled, 2017 - Offset print, glue, wood, varnish

Reduction to the essentials, variation and repetition, forms dictated by the production process…These are just some of the aspects of Goekhan Erdogan's works. He often works in series and frequently uses his passport photograph as the starting point for his work. The examination of his own self-portrait is characterized by many philosophical, art- and socio-historical aspects; the result of these deliberations is often highly minimalist. Erdogan lifts the photographic images out of their formal framework, forces the paper into unusual states of composition and transforms the motifs to the point of complete dissolution, until they are inherent in the work only as an abstract idea.

An exploration of materiality, rooted in the production process, is evident in the works presented here. What appears to be polished stone and wood are, in fact, offset prints of various-sized copies of his passport photo, which have been coated with glue, pressed and dried. Erdogan approaches the paper like a sculptor would – he moulds, removes and polishes. The result is a series of pure, tactile objects that irresistibly invite touch, blurring the line between natural and crafted artistry. 

Goekhan Erdogan was born in Frankfurt am Main in 1978. He studied at the HfbK Städelschule Frankfurt and the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach. Aside from being the winner of the Dieter Haack Award 2011, he regularly organizes solo and group exhibitions in galleries and art associations in Germany, particularly in the Rhine-Main region, as well as at various locations in Europe.

E 606, 2024 – red coloured pencil on Hahnemühle Rice Paper, plotted, mounted on cardboard

Hinsberg is one of the most prominent German artists to have coined the term ‘spatial drawing’ and the medium of silhouettes. Since the 1990s, her work has focussed on drawing and various processes of deconstruction. She draws and transforms the hand-drawn lines by cutting and drilling holes in the paper surfaces. Her works span a remarkable range– from intricate paper-cut grids to expansive, floating strips of paper and entire interiors adorned with vibrant sheets of colored paper. These creations are striking examples of how the medium of drawing has transcended its traditional limits, evolving far beyond mere lines on a page to encompass spatial and sculptural dimensions. 

In its delicate form, the work presented here demonstrates the transformation between drawing, relief and three-dimensional objects. In this case, the paper -–a common support —becomes a sign, a line, yet also an emphasised body, casting a delicate, seemingly floating shadow onto the background. The material takes centre stage.

Born in Karlsruhe in 1967, Hinsberg studied in Munich, Dresden and Bordeaux. In addition to a professorship for drawing at the HBK Bremen, she has been a professor of conceptual painting at the HBKsaar Saarbrücken since 2011. Hinsberg has received numerous scholarships, awards and publications. Her works are shown in international exhibitions and can be found in various collections, including: Chinati Foundation, Marfa, TX; Graphische Sammlung, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich; Hamburger Kunsthalle; Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin; Kunstmuseum Stuttgart; Folkwang Museum, Essen; Museum of New Zealand, Wellington, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe.

Untitled, 2024 - Watercolour Britannia Hahnemühle, archival pigment print

Untitled, 2024 - Watercolour Britannia Hahnemühle, archival pigment print

Untitled, 2024 - Watercolour Britannia Hahnemühle, archival pigment print

In her minimalist works, Karolin Schwab uses a reduced formal language that builds a bridge between the physically perceptible and the invisible. By doing this, she awakens hidden longings in the viewer.                                                                                                                         

The works presented here are part of another series by Schwab, in which she explores the sounds associated with painted and printed natural phenomena. She photographs and paints places and conditions whose sounds are familiar to us. Wind. The flow of water. Breaking wood..

She creates this auditory experience for the viewer by translating it into a visual form—the tape.This medium, often used to preserve and reproduce sound, becomes a bridge between sight and sound, allowing us to ‘hear’ through the act of seeing. In this way, ‘sound’ is created through translation into form and colour. In this way, seeing evokes an echo of sound in our memory, triggering personal associations and memories. Breathing in and out, like the constant flow of life itself, forms the rhythm of this sensory experience. Here, for example, grey-black images of ‘roaring sea’ transform the sound of the water into a visual sound tape. 

Karolin Schwab was born in 1987 in Stralsund,currently she lives and works in Berlin. After completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of East London, Schwab completed her studies with a Master of Fine Arts under Ai Wei Wei at the Berlin University of the Arts. In addition to numerous international and national exhibitions, she has received extensive scholarships and prizes, including a place on this year's Paper Residency! programme at the Haus des Papiers in Berlin.

Partition 115, 2018 - photo object, unique piece

If you strip photography of all its content, what remains? Christiane Feser explored this question and discovered that light, shadow, and the materiality of paper prevail. From this foundation, she created her dynamic playing field. Beginning with digital image processing, her practice has increasingly incorporated physical, hands- on techniques since 2008. She photographs the material, then folds, cuts, scores, and sometimes stitches it, integrating threads and fibers into the surface. She meticulously arranges these elements before capturing them once more through a camera’s lens. By doing this, Feser juxtaposes the photographic vision of the camera, which records a reality that “once existed”, with the subjective perception of the human eye. This process blurs the boundaries between two and three dimensions, ultimately transforming the photograph into a ‘photo object’—a tangible, material form that challenges traditional photographic representation. 

The ongoing series Partitionen began with the simple folds of individual pieces of paper. Over a period of months, Feser formed new modules from thousands of folded A4 sheets of paper, capturing them on camera before transforming them back into three dimensions. By doing this, she deepened her analytical knowledge of material, light and shadow until she set about developing her very unique partitions. Christiane Feser's large-format work Partition 115, displayed in the entrance area, is characterised by her masterful control of paper as a material, which pours into the room like a waterfall of paper strips.

Christiane Feser, born in 1977 in Würzburg, studied at the Offenbach University of Art and Design. Her works have been shown in exhibitions worldwide, including at the Frankfurter Kunstverein; the Getty Museum, Los Angeles; the Kunstmuseum Bochum; the Palazzo Strozzi, Florence and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Her works are in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Minneapolis Institute of Art; the Mönchehaus Museum, Goslar; the ZKM Karlsruhe and the Klein Collection. Christiane Feser is the first recipient of the Paper Residency!.

Aussitzen oder abheben (Sit it out or take off), 2024 – paper, thread, chair

Inside and outside, visible and hidden, firm and soft. Sheila Furlan’s works consistently explore the dynamic interplay between space, surface, transparency and opacity. Her delicate creations, crafted from translucent organza fabric and precise stitching, reveal the invisible gaps and spaces that often go unnoticed.

For Haus des Papiers, Furlan accepted an invitation to engage with paper as a material and created the work aussitzen oder abheben specifically for the museum. The piece reflects the artist's intricate working process, drawing references from the original object included in the installation.

Stripped of its original function and transformed into its opposite, the object reveals its inner core and becomes a poetic symbol of everyday life.

Born in Rome, Sheila Furlan studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. In addition to her artistic studies, she received training in Flamenco dance, a foundation that has shaped her interdisciplinary projects between dance, music, and theater. Her works are shown internationally in various exhibitions. She lives and works in Munich.

o.T. (Untitled), 2018 – concrete, paper cups, steel

Ines Schaikowski examines everyday objects and how we interact with them. In her works, she traces the narrative potential inherent in them. She scrutinizes how the seemingly trivial intervenes in the various areas of perception and action and thus influences our thinking, our lives and ultimately our identity.

Is it the individual who shapes their everyday life, or does the everyday life shape the individual?

Schaikowski is particularly interested in the tension between the repetitiveness, fleetingness and interchangeability of everyday things and our growing need for individuality. In her works, Schaikowski contrasts the fleeting, disposable nature of everyday items—such as paper cups and toilet rolls— with the rigid solidity of concrete. By removing these objects from their usual context, Schaikowski offers a fresh perspective on the familiar items that surround us.

Ines Schaikowski was born in 1981 and lives and works in Wriezen. She studied media studies, media culture and artistic production and research at the Philipps University in Marburg, the Bauhaus in Weimar and the University of Barcelona. Individual works from her artistic project Hybride Heimat have been exhibited and repeatedly honoured throughout Europe. Her works from this project were shown in solo exhibitions at the Fundación Fusterin Barcelona and the Kunstverein zu Rostock, as well as in group exhibitions at the Marburger Kunstverein, the Museo de la Universidad de Alicante/Spain and the Fundación Vila Casas, Girona/Spain. She was a recipient of the Paper Residency! 2022.

Patchwork 43, 2023, cardboard, paper on cardboard

Patchwork 44, 2023 cardboard, paper on cardboard

From a young age, textiles have profoundly influenced the artist and designer, as they were a constant presence in his everyday life at home. As a teenager, Bora devoured fashion magazines and studied fabrics, yarns and colours. He began creating paper collages during this period, selectively combining images from magazines and daily newspapers to create new motifs. The paper structures in Bora's works are layered and intertwined, evoking a sense of familiarity upon closer inspection, as they often reference everyday objects or patterns that resonate with the viewer.

A key concept unifying Bora's work is his strict selection of materials. He only uses paper that has found its way into his household through everyday means, like shopping or mail, and deconstructs it and reimagines it into new forms.

Cem Bora was born in Istanbul in 1965 and lives and works in Berlin. After training at the Fashion Institute of the Lette Verein Berlin, he worked for style agencies in Paris and Amsterdam. In the meantime, he founded his own fashion label. Bora has been exhibiting his works on paper since 2005, including at exhibitions in Berlin, Basel, Paris and Luxembourg. He is represented in the collection Modebild-Lipperheidesche, Kostümbibliothek, in the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

Inherited Desire, 2018 - Lithograph on BFK Rives

Since the mid-2000s, Jorinde Voigt has developed her own graphic system for translating experiences, thoughts and sensory impressions based on philosophical writings and communication patterns in music. Voigt translates the objects of investigation into her own grammar, which appears as a precisely drawn system of lines and letters, sometimes as dashed colour spots, coloured collages or gold leaf inlays.

Jorinde Voigt's works are represented in various collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago; Center Pompidou, Paris; Kunsthaus, Zurich; The Morgan Library & Museum, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich; Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich and Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin and others. Her works are exhibited internationally and accompanied by a wide range of publications.

Untitled, 2021 - paper, color pigments

Fee Kleiß is currently working on the remnants of recent history: in an experimental, deconstructive, almost archaeological way, she is uncovering a confusing network of connections between objects that have grown and been culturally produced: she disassembles, transforms and creates new connections until the things lose their meaning and merge into something new.

In the works shown here, she combines the found with the lawful. She combines chance with a planned concept. The flat becomes spatial and conquers the room.

Fee Kleiß was born in Kuchen in 1984. She initially studied fine arts and philosophy in Mainz and then became a master student at the Berlin University of the Arts under Valérie Favre. She has received prizes and scholarships, including the Regina Pistor Prize, DAAD travel scholarship for Indonesia, Dorothea Konwiarz scholarship and the Paper Residency! Scholarship. Her works have been shown in solo and group exhibitions at Künstlerhaus Dortmund, Kunstverein Siegen, Atelierhof Kreuzberg, Salon Mutlu, Galerie Schwarz Contemporary and in galleries and cultural venues in Copenhagen, Paris and New York.

empathy test (auto), 2024 – Untreated steel, float glass, silicone, 20ml mother tincture of her own bodily fluids, Hahnemühle Britannia Watercolour

Jessica Maria Toliver communicates with paper like a breathing organism. In her dialogue with the material, she incorporates found or manipulated structures, which she transforms into paper cuts, drawings, space-oriented installations and sculptures.

For empathy test (auto), Toliver adds her bodily fluids, dissolved in 20ml of homeopathic mother tincture, to an aquarium filled with paper and distilled water for a period of four weeks, after which the paper is dried. The work follows on from the empathy test series, in which she explicitly explored questions of dialogue and resonance, identity and identification.

The title empathy test (auto) refers to the organic traces that appear on the paper surface over the course of the weeks as a sign of her DNA and deals with questions of the self (Greek: auto) as an actual being, not only in the physical sense but also in the spiritual sense.

Jessica Maria Toliver was born in Coburg in 1976. She lives and works in Schwerte, North Rhine-Westphalia. After working as a design assistant in Dortmund and Berlin, she decided to pursue a career in fine art in 2008 and has been working with paper ever since. Her works can be found in museum collections such as the Gustav-Lübcke Museum, Hamm and the Haus des Papiers, Berlin, as well as in the Rohrmeisterei community foundation, Schwerte, among others, and in numerous private collections. She was a recipient of the Paper Residency! 2022.

Baum 4  – paper cast, wood, acrylic

Baum 9 (Paar) – paper cast, wood, acrylic

Ute Krautkremer deals with change and dissolution through time, nature and human intervention. Forms and structures from her concrete surroundings play an important role. She translates what she finds into her own formal language and thus enables a new perspective on it.

In the series of works entitled Spurensicherung - Baum, Krautkremer works with severed tree trunks, branches and tree discs. On the one hand, the tree fragments symbolise nature and human intervention in it. At the same time, the imprint becomes an abstract form in which traces of the moulded object can be found.

Born in Koblenz in 1958, Krautkremer lives and works in Spay/Rhine and Berlin. She studied fine arts and art history in Mainz. She has received funding from the Biennale di Venezia ‘Personal Structures’, for example, or the project grant from the RLP Ministry of Culture. Her works have already been presented in numerous international exhibitions.

Untitled, 2024 – Hahnemühle Turner cotton paper, acrylic paint

Conrad uses the technique of embossing to expand the medium of painting. The artist uses human experiences as motifs and assembles them into a new whole in his works.

During the residency, Conrad used his own body weight to mould the paper and set it in motion. Supported by the colouring of the paper, these are emphasised and extend the supposedly flat paper into the space to a supposedly imaginary audible experience.

Born in Wuppertal in 1992, Conrad lives and works in Frankfurt am Main. In 2014, he initially began studying architecture at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal, but then dedicated himself to studying painting at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. His work is exhibited internationally and nationally. He is one of this year's four scholarship holders of the Paper Residency! programme of the Haus des Papiers.

Untitled, 2024 – Watercolor Britannia Hahnemühle, Pigment

Untitled, 2024 – Watercolor Britannia Hahnemühle, Pigment

João Freitas explores painting itself in his works. Not only the act of painting but everything that comes with it. During his exploration, paper became his own independent medium of expression. It extends his painting into space, thus removing it from its two-dimensional context, as well as the materiality of paper itself.

The works exhibited here were created during this year's Paper Residency! program at Haus des Papiers. Through the sophisticated combination of color and the multi-layered body of paper, fluffy three-dimensional objects were created, whose color is so restrained and mysterious that associations such as rust or even snow come to mind. Each of these associations is less of a thought-out state, but rather a moment of becoming. It’s more like rusting or snowing, not an end result, but a temporary state. The transformation of the familiar surface.The preparation through meticulous exploration of the fibers: How do they react to this and that...? This creates impressionistic, shimmering spaces and surfaces.

Lote me out.

My depth.

My vastness.

Thus, I embrace your mind.

The fleeting becomes visible.

                                       Annette Berr

Freitas was born in 1989 in Coimbra. He lives and works in Brussels. He studied painting at the École nationale supérieure des arts visuels de La Cambre. His works are presented internationally. He is one of the four recipients of this year’s Paper Residency! program at Haus des Papiers.

Zero, 2013 – book object (exhibition catalogue of dOCUMENTA 13)

In her works, Noriko Ambe layers individual sheets of paper cut to size to form complete sculptures. The thousands of filigree sheets of paper are thus reminiscent of organic forms that visualize a supposed journey through time.

The work Zero by Noriko Ambe uses the exhibition catalogue of documenta 13 - an exhibition known for its political significance and thematic depth - as the material for her work. The work is part of Ambe's book cut series, which brings together several works. By delicately dissecting the physical book, she creates complex patterns that create an individual rhythm of open and closed. The previously separate contents communicate and combine to form a new overall picture.

Born in Saitama, Japan in 1967, the artist lives and works in New York City and Japan. She studied at Musashino Art University in Tokyo and has already received numerous scholarships and awards. Her works can be found in renowned collections such as the Whitney Museum of American Art and the MOMA in New York. She received the Bronze Paper Art Award from Haus des Papiers in 2024 and has a work in our collection.

Nineteen Spaces, 2024 – parchment paper, print, wax

Laura Hills' work explores the interplay of architectural and spatial elements such as surface, depth, and form. She investigates how these elements can be manipulated to disrupt the spatial perception, orientation, and experience of the viewer.

In this site-specific installation, Hills combines individual segments into a new, space-encompassing structure. The stretched canvases display various historical patterns that, in their form and color language, seem to originate from the same source. However, through their positioning, the readability of the inscribed information is destroyed, causing the viewer to perceive the whole rather than focus on individual details.

Laura Hills is a London-based artist and musician. She is an emerging visual artist who has participated in exhibitions and performances such as the Plas Bodfa Continuum (2022) and the Contemporary Music Proms (2022). In addition to her visual art practice, she is a musician and composer, with her debut album Inside Out released in 2022 by Linear Obsessional. She has also contributed to other albums by Cities and Memories and the Women's Collective, and co-organizes the Caer Llan Jazz Summer School. Hills was a participant in the AA2A Residency at York St John University in 2024 and is the recipient of the 2024 Gilbert Bayes Royal Society Sculptors Award for emerging sculptors.

Untitled, 2024 – milk carton paper, Hahnemühle paper, old bicycle tubes

In his works, repetition is a central tool that manifests itself through folds, series, and layers of the materials used, leading to the formation of an entire structure.

In the piece shown here, Frieder Falk combines everyday materials with papers from the artistic realm. By repeating patterns, he formally unites two seemingly separate domains of use into an inseparable whole. Through his abstraction, he opens up imaginative spaces for the recognition of forms that viewers can associate with various objects. Falk brings the everyday into art and art into the everyday.

After studying sculpture at the Alanus University of Art and Social Sciences in Alfter, Falk completed his studies as a master student under Prof. Thomas Rentmeister at the University of Fine Arts in Braunschweig. His works have been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions across Germany.

Gelege, 2010 – Onion Paper

Anna Handick’s work originates from a fascination with nature and a concern for its preservation and restoration. In her art, she particularly explores survival strategies, adaptations, dependencies, and symbioses, which she seeks to reconnect with society. She predominantly uses natural materials in her work, examining their potential uses and limitations, thus developing "environmentally conscious artistic positions."

In the piece exhibited here, Anna Handick uses onion skins as an alternative raw material to create her delicate paper spheres.

Anna Handick was born in 1985 in Nuremberg. She currently lives and works in Nicaragua. She studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Nuremberg under Claus Bury. Her works have been shown in numerous solo exhibitions in Germany, Switzerland, and Nicaragua. She has received various grants, including the Debutants Grant from the Bavarian State Ministry for Science, Research, and Art, and the Young Art Award from Artforum Ute Barth. Her works are part of the collection at the Museum of the Fundación Ortíz Gurdián in León, Nicaragua, and the Cultural Foundation of Sparkasse Nuremberg. In 2020, she founded the project Abacaxi Artspace.

Untitled, 2021 – neswpaper, ink

Schichtung 16, 2023 – newspapers, ink on canvas

In his works Untitled and Schichtung 16, Cem Bora uses newspapers as his material. He either employs them in their entirety, deconstructs them, or reassembles them, enhancing the surfaces with black ink. The darkening of the content removes the newspapers from their original context, drawing attention to the material itself. Taken from everyday life, it is transformed into a special object through this process.

Cem Bora was born in 1965 in Istanbul and lives and works in Berlin. After training at the Fashion Institute of the Lette Verein in Berlin, he worked for style agencies in Paris and Amsterdam. He later founded his own fashion label. Since 2005, Bora has been exhibiting his paper works in shows in cities like Berlin, Basel, Paris, and Luxembourg. His work is represented in the Modebild-Lipperheidesche Kostümbibliothek collection at the State Museums in Berlin.

Cluster, 2021- Installation of 20 Vinyl Record Sleeves, wrapped in cellophane

Rosemarie Trockel is one of the most significant and influential contemporary German conceptual artists. For over three decades, she has been at the forefront of the international art scene. Her diverse body of work deliberately resists easy classification and includes collages, video installations, drawings, ceramics, and knitted images. Trockel became internationally renowned in the mid-1980s for her machine-made "wool pictures" and "knitted helmets," often featuring culturally and politically charged motifs and patterns. These works playfully referenced the stereotype of "women's work" and captured the spirit of the times. Trockel has repeatedly commented on the role of women in society and in the art world, often exploring their reversal through subtle or humorously provocative social critique.

When asked about the material of paper, Trockel responds with "packaging art." Here, the material appears in its already industrially recycled form. "If the cellophane remains sealed, it's art. If you tear it open, it becomes an everyday object." For the museum, Trockel has provided a cluster of meticulously composed and conceptually arranged LP covers. The motifs on the individual packaging objects interact with each other, creating a background hum of associative chains. There is no escape; the viewer is compelled to engage with the encrypted visual messages and position themselves: Am I for this? Am I against this? In our modern, icon- and emoticon-distorted everyday language—reduced to simple images—Trockel's complex image fragments tap into the collective unconscious. Her messages are not simple; they disturb.

Rosemarie Trockel was born in 1952 in Schwerte. She studied at the Cologne School of Arts, but in the early 1980s, she charted her own path. After solo exhibitions in Cologne and Bonn, her work gained significant attention in the U.S., with exhibitions at MoMA, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, among others. Trockel has received numerous prestigious awards and has been involved in major exhibition projects, including being the first woman to represent Germany at the Venice Biennale in 1999. Her works have been shown at Skulptur. Projekte Münster (2007), Documenta X and XIII in Kassel, and major retrospectives at institutions such as the MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt and Museum Ludwig in Cologne. Many of her works are part of significant global collections. From 1998 to 2016, she held a professorship at the Art Academy in Düsseldorf. In 2012, she co-founded the Cologne cultural institution Academy of the Arts of the World. She was a recipient of the Paper Residency! program.

With our new special exhibition format the Sonderschau, we have created an opportunity to showcase innovative developments around the material paper within the framework of our exhibitions at Haus des Papiers. To kick off, we are presenting unique works from our newly established Paper Future Lab by Haus des Papiers, where artistic research, industry, design, and craftsmanship converge to explore sustainability in its broadest sense, focusing on cellulose derived from various plant fiber sources.

1. JOSEPH BEUYS

Poster Hamburger Kunsthalle (Earth Telephone), 1992 – Offset print on paper, Courtesy of the CESA Collection, Berlin

Poster Kunstmuseum Bonn (Primal Object. Earth Telephone), 1997 – Offset print on paper, Courtesy of the CESA Collection, Berlin

Poster Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt (Earth Telephone) – Offset print on paper, Courtesy of the CESA Collection, Berlin

For Joseph Beuys, preserving nature was a lifelong mission. "Art is the only way environmental problems can be solved," he stated in a 1978 interview with ZEIT Magazine. This conviction was evident not only in large-scale ecological projects such as 7000 Eichen (7000 Oaks, 1982–87), where he doubled the tree population in Kassel during documenta 7, but also in earlier works like Urobjekt – Erdtelephon (1967).

This enigmatic sculpture raises questions about humanity’s lost connection with nature. Is there no one on the other end of the line? Who is the sender, and who is the receiver? The ambiguity of this work remains thought-provoking. The Paper Future Labs by Haus des Papiers presents posters from the Hamburger Kunsthalle and Kunstmuseum Bonn, both featuring the Erdtelephon to promote their collections.

Joseph Beuys, an influential sculptor and performance artist, was born in Krefeld in 1921. He studied painting and sculpture at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 1946 to 1952, becoming a master student of Ewald Mataré. From 1961 to 1972, Beuys served as a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. His tenure ended controversially due to his advocacy for open admissions and his involvement in student protests. These actions reflected his philosophy of the "expanded concept of art," which sought to integrate art into all facets of life, encompassing humanism, social philosophy, and anthroposophy. Beuys died in Düsseldorf in 1986. His work was celebrated globally, including a retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1979.

(Text: Sarah Frost)

2. EVA BULLERMANN

Petri dish 1 - carboxymethyl cellulose, glycerine

Petri dish 2 - foam of carboxymethylcellulose and microcrystalline cellulose

Petri dish 3 - carboxymethyl cellulose, glycerine - dried on different substrates

Vial 1 - eggshell skin

Vial 2 - Luffa sponge gourd

Vial 3 - Skin between layers of leek onions 

Air cushion made of carboxymethyl cellulose, glycerine glued with wheat paste

Framed:

Carboxymethylcellulose, glycerine - pattern generated with the Grasshopper programme for the development of form through water and air in plants

Carboxymethylcellulose, glycerol, air-filled chamber glued with wheat paste - sample from highly concentrated gels

Carboxymethylcellulose, glycerine, onion cell sample

3D print from PLA (polylactide) sample

In her master's thesis on ‘Designing with cellulose, air and water’, Bullermann investigates the possible uses of the stable, biodegradable structures of cellulose fibres. Using nature as a model, Eva Bullermann attempts to create material-saving complex structures that incorporate air and water as materials in the design process. The exhibited samples show models made from the cellulose derivative carboxymethylcellulose, which is used as a thickening agent in the food industry.

Derived from the raw material cellulose, it can be mixed with water to form a viscous gel, which can then be poured into molds, foamed and dried.

Eva Bullermann (*1993 in the Bavarian Forest) is a textile and surface designer whose work deals artistically with the creation of form in biological material and the design of material. Most recently, she worked as a project assistant and designer for Matters of Activity in the CollActive Materials project. In the project, speculative design was tested as a method of science communication in the form of workshops.

3. ESTHER STÖGERER + JANNIS KEMPKENS

BLACK LIQUOR, 2020

Prototype shoe

Black Liquor complete catalogue with all materials

Petri dish 1 - Raw material spruce shavings

Petri dish 2 - Recycled cotton fibre

Petri dish 3 - Recycled cellulose

Petri dish 4 - Coffee grounds

Esther Kaya Stögerer and Jannis Kempkens, former graduates of the Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin, work as designers in materials research. Esther's focus is on sustainability in the fashion industry and its supply chains. Jannis deals with material transformation in the context of waste and overproduction. As part of the Black Liquor research project, they are working within an interdisciplinary network of partners on the development of materials and products based on lignin, a by-product from biorefineries and a residual product of the global pulp and paper industry. 

Black Liquor uses lignin to produce materials for the furniture and fashion industry and is driving the paradigm shift away from petroleum-based to bio-based materials and products.

Together with other designers, they founded the design studio Circology. Circology is a studio for materials research and circular product design

4. SOLVEIG GUBSER

Paper Inks

In addition to her work as a designer, Gubser is deeply engaged with the mediums of drawing, installation, intervention, and photography. Her focus lies in process-oriented, generative creation, the visual language that emerges through serial work, and the possibilities for its further development. Elements of chance, found objects, and observations from her daily life and nature serve as inspiration and starting points for her work.

In the excerpt presented here from her project Papiertinten, the artist explores the recycling of used colors on and within paper.

For this, she uses scraps of paper, which play a key role in her creative process as sources for generating ideas. At the conclusion of a project, these scraps are repurposed through the extraction of inks. The extracted inks are filtered, collected, labeled, and stored in the bottles displayed here. Gubser then examines the durability of the inks, their light sensitivity, and their potential for reuse.

Solveig Gubser (1984) is a designer (Industrial Design, MA, UdK Berlin) and freelance artist from Switzerland. She currently lives and works in Denmark.

5. LEONIE TSCHERNICH

Momi, 2024 – Momigami Technique, Paper, Wax, Konnyaku Starch (Shoe Prototype)

The shoe concept Momi utilizes paper as the upper material, transformed into a fabric-like material using the Momigami technique. This material is rendered water-repellent through a natural wax coating while retaining paper's advantageous properties, such as easy printability, seamless foldability, and natural dyeability. These characteristics open up countless new possibilities for shoe color and material design.

This prototype was created as part of the Paper Products semester project at the Faculty of Design at the Nuremberg Institute of Technology, under the guidance of Prof. Olaf Thiele in the Computer Generated Object Design module.

Born in 2004, Leonie Tschernich lives and studies in Nuremberg. Her studies include typography, computer-generated object design, and UI design at the Nuremberg Institute of Technology.

6. JOY SCHOELLER

Etoui, 2024 – By-products of Sugarcane, Cotton Latex Rubber, Glue

Etoui translates to "And yes" in the context of sustainability, style, and design. The paper is made entirely from sugarcane by-products and sealed with a cotton latex rubber closure. This dental care case provides a sustainable alternative to conventional plastic or polyester bags, making it an ideal choice for nature enthusiasts, whether for outdoor adventures or travel.

This prototype was also developed as part of the Paper Products semester project at the Faculty of Design at the Nuremberg Institute of Technology, under the guidance of Prof. Olaf Thiele in the Computer Generated Object Design module.

Joy Schoeller completed training as a technical model maker at her father Leif Schoeller's workshop. She later attended the Vocational School for Design in Nuremberg and is currently studying design at the Nuremberg Institute of Technology, focusing on computer-generated object design, graphic design, spatial design, and event design.

7. NICHOLAS PLUNKETT

Fecal Matters, 2019 – cellulose, pectin, natural dyes

Lobke Beckfeld, Elisabetta Goltermann, Nicholas Plunkett, Melissa Kramer

Can recycled hygiene paper be worn as clothing or even used as tableware? What underlies our reservations about this recycled material, and can they be overcome? These questions were the focus of Nicholas Plunkett, Elisabetta Goltermann, Melissa Kramer, and Lobke Beckfeld's research project conducted in the greenlab at Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin. The overarching research theme of greenlab highlights the principles of the circular economy.

The circular economy opposes the linear consumption model by advocating for continuous reuse: non-biodegradable materials should remain within the production and consumption cycle, while biodegradable materials are returned to nature to serve as nutrients.

In their design project Fecal Matters, Plunkett, Goltermann, Kramer, and Beckfeld explored the design potentials and possible applications of cellulose recovered from wastewater containing toilet paper.

Globally, approximately 83 million rolls of toilet paper are produced daily, requiring around 27,000 trees to be cut down every day for international consumption. The project investigates, on both experimental and practical levels, methods to integrate cellulose as a valuable resource into another material cycle by transforming it into textiles.

The greenlab at Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin serves as a hub for practice-oriented research projects and collaboration with industry partners, aiming to jointly develop innovative concepts for sustainable and environmentally friendly products and services.

8. RELEAF PAPER

Shopping Bag – recycled urban leaves

Releaf Paper is a young, innovative company transforming green waste into valuable raw materials for the paper and packaging industry. By combining scientific knowledge with entrepreneurial enthusiasm, they are reshaping public perception of responsible resource use in paper production.

Founded in Ukraine in 2021 through the collaboration of a talented scientist and a successful entrepreneur, Releaf Paper actively partners with contract factories in Ukraine and the EU to produce paper and packaging using its proprietary Releaf technology.

What began as a research project by a 16-year-old student has evolved over five years into an international, dynamic startup with offices in Paris and Kyiv, and ambitious global goals.

9. TU MUNICH, CAMPUS STRAUBING FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY AND SUSTAINABILITY – FELICITAS VON USSLAR, ALEXANDER HELMBRECHT

Balsa Wood at the End of Delignification

Beechwood, untreated cross-sections

Various wood samples at different stages of surface delignification

Dried cellulose foam – composed of bacterial cellulose

Cottonid samples

The project "From Wood to Paper" by the Chair of Biogenic Polymers at TU Munich demonstrates the transformation of wood into cellulose and, subsequently, into paper.

Starting materials like balsa and beechwood are chemically delignified, a process that removes lignin while preserving the cellulose structure. Various stages of delignification are documented, from solid wood to cellulose fibers and finally to paper forms. Additionally, innovative materials such as bacterial cellulose foam and Cottonid are showcased. Microscopic images illustrate the structural changes throughout the process.

The project highlights the conversion of wood into sustainable cellulose- and paper-based products.

Team and Leadership:

Dr. Cordt Zollfrank leads the Chair of Biogenic Polymers at the Technical University of Munich, based on the Straubing campus.

Alexander Helmbrecht, a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Chair, holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Renewable Resources from TU Munich. He joined the Chair for Biogenic Polymers on October 1, 2021.

Felicitas von Usslar, also a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Chair, began her career with foundational studies in chemistry. She specialized in inorganic and applied materials sciences during her Master’s. A research semester at Stockholm University fueled her passion for cellulose research before joining the Chair at the end of 2021.

In Formation 1, 2024 - Archival pigment print

In Formation 2, 2024 - Archival pigment print

In Formation 3, 2024 - Archival pigment print

Katja Strunz is primarily known for her sculptures, collages, and immersive installations. In her work, she explores the complexities of space, memory, movement, and time, as well as how we perceive them. She uses folding as a technique to create compressions, fragments, and tension, unlocking new possibilities for interpretation through the "lost gaze." This approach invites diverse and multifaceted readings of her work.

The works presented here were created this year as part of our Paper Residency! program. Strunz has abstracted the printed satellite images through precise folds, creating new patterns that invite viewers to puzzle and reflect.

Born in 1970 in Ottweiler, Katja Strunz lives and works in Berlin. She studied philosophy, history, and art history at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, and later pursued painting and graphic art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe, where she graduated as a master student under Professor Meuser. Her works are exhibited internationally, and she has received multiple awards. In 2024, she was a resident artist at the Paper Residency! program at the Haus des Papiers.

Tracing Vista 14 (Cipollino Venato Rosso/Morning), 2023 – ink and paper with plaster

Anri Sala explores the relationships between narrative, music, architecture, and film. He employs various media to transfer and integrate the unique qualities of each medium into the others.

The Tracing Vista series includes several paper works that capture the process of transferring drawings onto freshly applied fresco plaster. As the paper is peeled away, pieces of plaster adhere to the back of the sheet, leaving behind a negative of the drawing. This process reveals the layering technique involved and encapsulates different moments in time—like a snapshot and a summary of an entire narrative arc, essentially a film still in paper form. This work exemplifies Sala’s interdisciplinary approach and his ability to blend mediums seamlessly.

Born in Tirana, Anri Sala lives and works in Berlin. He completed his bachelor's degree in painting and sculpture at the National Academy of Arts in Tirana before studying video at the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. He later finished his studies in film direction in Tourcoing, France. Sala has received numerous accolades, including the Vincent Award in 2014. His solo exhibitions have been held at venues such as the Centro Botín, Santander (2019–2020), Castello di Rivoli, Turin (2019), Marian Goodman Gallery, New York (2018), Tamayo Museum, Mexico City (2017), New Museum, New York (2016), Haus der Kunst, Munich (2015), Centre Pompidou, Paris (2012), and Serpentine Gallery, London (2011). He has participated in numerous group exhibitions and biennials, including the 57th Venice Biennale (2017), representing France at the 55th Venice Biennale (2013), dOCUMENTA (13) (2012), the 29th São Paulo Biennial (2010), the 2nd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (2007), and the 4th Berlin Biennale (2006).

Kitsune Lady, 2021 - Papermaché

Leiko Ikemura is considered one of the most significant contemporary artists. Her paintings and objects revolve around themes of transformation and the fusion of humanity and nature. The hybrid creatures and mythical beings she portrays are always depicted as fleeting, in a state of becoming. A key feature of Ikemura’s work is her ability to merge two very distinct poles—the European and the East Asian cultures. Her serene landscapes and mostly female hybrid figures often express indeterminacy and delve into the depths of human nature. Ikemura’s sculptures are typically made from bronze, terracotta, or glass.

For Haus des Papiers, she created her very first three-dimensional paper work. She added two new pieces made of papier-mâché to one of her most famous series of resting heads. The unpolished white surface with delicately modeled facial features subtly references the inspiration behind the work—the mythological creature Kitsune, an ice fox that takes on the form of a beautiful young woman. The presence of her dreamlike works is always breathtaking, and now there is a new component: the physically light material. This is especially evident in the piece Kitsune Lady—a fragile form, a whisper of paper. Time seems to freeze. Everything comes to rest. Breath fills us, like life.

Leiko Ikemura was born in 1951 in Tsu, Japan. At the age of 21, she moved to Europe to study literature and later painting in Seville. She has received numerous awards, including the August-Macke Prize in 2009 and the German Critics' Prize for Visual Arts in 2001. From 1990 to 2015, she taught at the UdK Berlin. Ikemura has exhibited worldwide, including at the Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Kunstmuseum Basel, MCBA Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts in Lausanne, the Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne, the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, and the Weserburg – Museum für Moderne Kunst in Bremen. Her works are part of collections at the Centre Georges-Pompidou in Paris, Kunstmuseum Basel, Bern and Zürich, Kunsthalle Nürnberg, Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf, and more.

PS 2022 14 – paper, graphite, ink, coloured pencil

PS 2023 3 – paper, graphite, ink, coloured pencil

PS 2021 8 – paper, graphite, ink, coloured pencil

Leonie Mertes explores the technique of drawing in her work. She continually seeks to uncover new forms and aspects, using paper as the foundation for her process. Minimizing her materials to a few simple tools, she employs graphite marks as her primary tool. She engages with the paper—researching, destroying, and highlighting its qualities.

In the works from the PS series, Mertes exposes the inner structure of the paper by injuring it, transforming the fibers into a key element of the piece itself. These fibers extend into space, shifting the paper from a two-dimensional plane to a three-dimensional object. The surface of the image becomes an object, and the paper’s inner layers are turned outward, revealing its multifaceted beauty.

Leonie Mertes was born in 1967 in Neuerburg, Südeifel. She lives and works in Hüttingen. After studying at the European Academy of Art in Trier and earning a diploma in Fine Arts from the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste Saar in Saarbrücken, she became a master student of Professor Katharina Hinsberg. She is the recipient of this year's Paper Art Award in Silver from Haus des Papiers.

Her works are exhibited internationally in both solo and group exhibitions.

She is the Silver Award recipient of the Paper Art Award for 2024.

Untitled, 2021 - paper cutout

Fiene Scharp employs the principle of grids as her artistic language, with delicacy and intricacy as the essential conditions of her work. She transforms two-dimensional grid drawings, typically derived from various types of graph paper, into spatial forms by meticulously cutting away microscopic sections. Through the almost complete removal of white spaces, she creates delicate lattice-like structures that have largely shed the stability of fixed patterns.

Her works carry a quiet tension that reveals itself gradually. On one side is the uniform structure of an industrially produced sheet of paper, reflected in the serial nature of its presentation.

On the other, her hand-cut incisions introduce minute variations and subtle breaks in repetition. These inevitable discrepancies—offset curves and folds—are not flaws but rather delicate traces of the individuality inherent to each sheet, waiting to be discovered upon closer inspection.

Fiene Scharp was born in 1984 in Berlin. She studied Fine Art and Literature at the Berlin University of the Arts and Humboldt University. In 2012, she received the Meisterschülerpreis from the UdK President and was a recipient of scholarships from the Else-Heiliger Fund of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Stiftung Kunstfonds. Her works have been exhibited across Europe, North America, and Asia, including the Centre for Recent Drawing in London, Kunsthalle Bremerhaven, Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Museum für Konkrete Kunst in Ingolstadt, and the Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch, among others.

She was awarded the Gold Paper Art Award by the Haus des Papiers in 2021.

Untitled, 2021 (Nr.2) – photo-object, unique

The work by Feser in the back of the museum revisits her artistic approach with a slight variation. The play between three-dimensionality and two-dimensionality, illusion and reality, remain a key focus here. 

Christiane Feser, born in 1977 in Würzburg, studied at the Offenbach University of Art and Design. Her works have been shown in exhibitions worldwide, including at the Frankfurter Kunstverein; the Getty Museum, Los Angeles; the Kunstmuseum Bochum; the Palazzo Strozzi, Florence and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Her works are in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Minneapolis Institute of Art; the Mönchehaus Museum, Goslar; the ZKM Karlsruhe and the Klein Collection. Christiane Feser is the first recipient of the Paper Residency!