In a suite of intricate paper collages, Kanako Abe conjures woodland tableaux where scale and atmosphere tilt toward the dreamlike. Giant wolves, diminutive bunnies, and curious deer appear in relief, glimpsed through foliage-filled portals that feel as if they open onto stories mid-telling. As a statement notes, cthe paper becomes a canvas for stories untold, where every cut is a deliberate step into a world where imagination and reality intertwine, d a sentiment that resonates across Abes practice.
Cut paper, layered narrative
Paper-cutting has long been central to Abes approach, and the works here underscore how a humble sheet becomes structure, shadow, and stage. The relief surfaces deepen the sense of passagean invitation to peer through leaves and branches toward creatures that feel both familiar and fabled. Wolves loom, rabbits dart, and deer pause, each framed by precise cuts that read as both ornament and threshold. The imagery channels childhood narratives and folk tales without tying itself to any single story, allowing viewers to supply their own beginnings and endings.
This careful choreography between material and motif is where Abes collages find their charge: every incision directs the eye, and each layer builds a scene that suggests movement, tension, and hush all at once. The result is a body of work that holds the viewer at the edge of a clearing, watching.
From page to gallery
Abe has recently carried her paper-cutting into a forthcoming book project with young adult novelist Caryl Lewis. The Paper Girl, published by Frances Lincoln Ltd., follows a young protagonist who folds herself into different forms in response to others comments and directives, only to learn how to stand up for herself by summoning the power of cno. d The Paper Girl is slated for release on October 6. Pre-orders are available on Bookshop, and if proof of purchase is provided via a form on Quarto, readers will receive a signed bookplate by Abe.
Beyond the page, the artist is working toward a curatorial endeavor at Giant Robot Gallery scheduled to open in January, which will also include her work. Next April, she will participate in a group exhibition at Childhoods End Gallery in Olympia, Washington. For updates, follow along on Instagram.
Taken together, these projects trace a continuum in which cut paper is not only medium but narrative enginefrom singular scenes of wolves and bunnies in the understory to a book about a girl who learns to shape her own story.
