On view June 28- July 17 , 2016

Art reception on July 9th Saturday 6:00pm – 8:30 pm

EBK Gallery [small works].
218 Pearl St.
Hartford, CT

EBK Gallery is pleased to have work on exhibit and available by artist Ben Parker. His work is absolutely fascinating! Each piece on view can be a metaphor for that mind bending “space/time fabric” tag line we always are hearing about. Not that I’m a quantum theoretical physicist or anything…but, when I look at these my mind gets caught in a poetic state between the geometric and the organic, the grid and the liquid, the ordered and the amorphic, clarity and confusion. And then I realise I’m looking at a single sheet of paper. -e

Disruption
There is something very soothing about viewing a tessellation. Disruption does not explore this. Here, Parker focuses on the confining nature of patterns, the perfection that binds the shapes within pleats, and the desire to allow the paper to break free. He begins the same way as all of his work, by folding a grid, and then a tessellation, a tiled pattern of shapes. Only once the base pattern is in place does he allow himself to disrupt it, in many cases even returning the paper to a flattened state. The design wants to move and escape. Represented in these works are frozen moments prior to the full disruption of the design. There are still remnants of the original theme, but also the feeling of liberation alongside chaos’ precursor.

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Gallery Sheet and Pricing PDF

Benjamin Parker has been exploring the possibilities of folded paper since 2007. He works with a single uncut sheet to create remarkably complex patterns. He folds precise gridlines by hand to use as guides for intricate clusters of twists, which constrain the paper into a geometric pattern. Each piece is the direct result of Parker’s desire to experience the resultant form.

Parker has displayed his work throughout the United States and is in the collection of La Escuela Museo Origami de Zaragoza in Spain. He has shown throughout the United States and has lectured and given workshops at several national origami conferences and artists’ collectives. He works daily at his studio in Manchester, Connecticut, pushing the boundaries of what can be done with patience and a single sheet of paper.

“Origami is a fascinating discipline. To its practitioners, it presents an unparalleled challenge to the mind and body, and the knowledge that can be unlocked by pushing the limits of what is possible with a single sheet of paper never ceases to amaze. The study is ancient, yet modern science is just beginning to reveal its full potential. It involves the manipulation of paper, among the humblest of materials, yet it sheds light on questions that flow through fundamental branches of human study such as mathematics, physics, pedagogy, art, and meditation. It is an art form that in its purest state neither adds nor subtracts material, but alters it in an almost alchemical process. It has international and intergenerational appeal, is accessible to all willing to put effort into its practice, and is represented by organizations that consistently promote the philosophy of communal advancement. These aspects of origami have held my interest for a very long time, and I do not expect that to change.

I practice a branch of this discipline known as geometric origami, and primarily design tessellations, which are studies of how paper can be shaped to create complex patterns capable of an infinite number of repeated iterations. While studying in Aix-en-Provence in 2007, I vacationed in Rome. At the time I was engrossed in one of the most holistic origami design books on the market, Robert Lang’s Origami Design Secrets. In it, Lang describes how to create an origami base, the skeleton of a representational design, and how to add details to create incredibly realistic designs. The designs are mathematical at their core yet result in a natural look that make many believe they are looking at a scale model of the object. Around the same time, I (re)discovered a photo-sharing website called flickr and a group called Origami Tessellations. The members of this group produce and share elaborate abstract paper designs.

Walking through the Roman historical centers, these two strong inspirational forces combined to make me think, “I wonder if…” It is almost 9 years later, and I still have not folded a detailed model of the Vatican out of a single uncut sheet of paper, but I have several decades left before I die. I have started on the architectural path by folding several skyscrapers out of paper, including the John Hancock Building in Chicago and the Terminal Tower in Cleveland, but there is more to learn. In the interim, I will be content exploring the vastness of geometric origami design. Origami tessellation studies have given rise to compositional studies such as the Breaking the Pattern series, an exploration into how to use abstract forms to draw a provocative picture with the paper. An open mind and fortune has granted me access to invaluable collaborations such as the series I share with darkroom photographer Christine Dalenta, which we call Shadow Tessellations.

My work is just beginning. I have used this art to become a proficient educator, writer, curator, mathematician, photographer, organizer, and entrepreneur. While none of these were my intended vocation, I have had to adapt to be successful at my craft. It has shaped who I am, my direction in life, and my relationships. I cannot imagine my life without origami.” -B.P.

Recent Press:

Article in the online publication of Widewalls (click here)

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Ben Parker

CV / Resume

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2016

“Tessellations” solo exhibit at EBK Gallery, Hartford, CT

2D3D: Contemporary Artists Working in Relief (in collaboration with Christine Dalenta), The Adolf & Virginia Dehn Gallery, MCC on Main, Manchester, CT

Shadow Castings: A Study of Geometry in Paper and Light (in collaboration with Christine Dalenta)

Norman Stevens Gallery, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT

2015

Shadow Tessellations (in collaboration with Christine Dalenta)

Aetna Gallery, Corporate Headquarters, Hartford, CT

Breaking the Pattern

Ethel Walker High School, Simsbury, CT; Kellogg Environmental Center, Derby, CT;

Wesleyan College, Middletown, CT; Mac650, Middletown, CT

2014

Shadow Tessellations (in collaboration with Christine Dalenta)

Barnes-Franklin Gallery, Tunxis Community College, Farmington, CT

Breaking the Pattern

Sabor 44, Stafford Springs, CT

Shadow Tessellations (in collaboration with Christine Dalenta)

Gallery 136 ½ at Photosynthesis, Manchester, CT (catalogue)

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2015

100 @ 100 Off the Wall, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT

Off the Grid, Sandusky Cultural Center, Sandusky, OH

What’s Old Is New Again: Alternative Photographic Processes (in collaboration with Christine Dalenta)

Gallery 136 ½ at Photosynthesis, Manchester, CT (catalogue)

Of and On Paper, Arts Center East, Vernon, CT

Meeting Past, Gallery at the Akin, Pawling, NY

2014

24th Annual Open Studio Hartford, Art Space, Hartford, CT

Surface to Structure (in collaboration with Christine Dalenta)

41 Cooper Gallery, The Cooper Union, New York, NY (catalogue)

2013

Photosynthesis Members’ Show, Gallery 136 ½, Manchester, CT

Web Versions, Gallery at the Whitney Center, New Haven, CT

2012

23rd Annual Open Studio Hartford, Art Space, Hartford, CT

CRT National Regional Arts Festival, Capital Community College, Hartford, CT

Hygienic Arts Festival, Hygienic Art Gallery, New London, CT

Art in the Underbelly, The Rumsey Wells, Norwich, Norfolk, England

2011

22nd Open Studio Hartford, Art Space, Hartford, CT

Paint the Ta-Ta’s: A Celebration of Life, Manchester Memorial Hospital, Manchester, CT

Hammered & Nailed, Art Space, Hartford, CT

[Un] Art 4, Art Space, Hartford, CT

4th FAVA Folding Festival, Firelands Association for the Visual Arts, Oberlin, OH

Centerfold Origami Convention, Columbus, OH

Folding Festival, Nelsonville, OH

2010

Still Folding, 3rd FAVA Folding Festival, Firelands Association for the Visual Arts, Oberlin, OH;

Sandusky Cultural Center, Sandusky, OH

21st Open Studio Hartford, Art Space, Hartford, CT

2009

2nd FAVA Folding Festival, Firelands Association for the Visual Arts, Oberlin, OH; Sandusky Cultural Center, Sandusky, OH

Origami: El Arte del Plegado, Exposicion Origami Zaragozana, Zaragoza, Spain

2008

1st FAVA Folding Festival, Firelands Association for the Visual Arts, Oberlin, OH

AWARDS & HONORS

2015

Best in Show, Open Studio Hartford Group Exhibition, Art Space Hartford, Hartford, CT

2010

First Thursday Exhibition Award, Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, CT

COLLECTIONS

Escuela-Museo Origami de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Susan Dunne, “A Unique View of Origami: Shadow Tessellations Lets Paper Take a Picture of Itself,”

The Hartford Courant, April 10, 2014, D1.

Steve Smith, “Art Show Mixes High And Low Tech,” Reminder, Vernon, CT, April 2013, pg. 8, pg. 28

Bert Meisel, “Whitney Center Gallery”, Whitney Center Observer, April, 2013, pg. 4, pg. 8.

Andrew Hudson, “Polygon Symmetry Systems”, Origami 5: Fifth International Meeting of Origami Science, Mathematics, and Education, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL

PUBLICATIONS

Six Simple Twists: The Pleat Pattern Method of Origami Tessellation Design, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2015

LECTURES / WORKSHOPS

2015

Basics of Geometric Origami, YOUmedia Labs, Hartford Public Library, Hartford, CT

Basics of Geometric Origami, Wesleyan College, Middletown, CT

Origami USA Convention, Manhattan College, New York City, NY

2014

Corrugation Lectures, Amherst High School, Amherst, MA

Origami USA Convention, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City, NY

Gallery Talk, Barnes-Franklin Gallery, Tunxis Community College, Farmington, CT

2013

Guest Speaker, East Hampton Art Association, East Hampton, CT

Origami Bookmarks, Ellington Library, Ellington, CT

2012

Origami Lily, Benchmark Assisted Living Home, Rocky Hill, CT

2011

Guest Speaker, Manchester Art Association, Manchester, CT

Centerfold Origami Convention, Columbus, OH

Research Assistant, Origami Math Grant Team, Ann Arbor, MI

2010

Centerfold Origami Convention, Columbus, OH

2009

Centerfold Origami Convention, Columbus, OH

Origami USA Convention, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City, NY

2008

Origami USA Convention, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City, NY

2007

Origami USA Convention, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City, NY

CURATORIAL PROJECTS

2012

Paper to Pixel, Vernon Community Art Center, Vernon, CT