Noriko Ambe

Noriko Ambe creates what she calls “Linear Actions,” pristine white sculptures composed of layers of a synthetic paper made from polypropylene, called Yupo. Resembling three-dimensional topographies, the objects are the product of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of sheets of paper that Ambe laboriously and painstakingly cuts by hand using a craft knife, before layering them on top of each other, creating effects of both fragility and solidity. “I have been mapping the mysterious land between physical and emotional geography. I want to attain something sublime,” she has said. Ambe’s work also suggests psychological terrains, especially in her sculptures that incorporate metal cabinets—metaphors for the human body, with the paper forms within signifying internal life. Other works include artist book sculptures, which Ambe sculpts by cutting out portions of other artists’ monographs, creating forms inspired by their work.