* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.
Jeff Nisinaka moved from his native LA to Pasadena, where he attended Art Center College of Design and first began experimenting with paper art and sculpture. Twenty-eight years later he is a premier paper sculptor with a prolific career and a commercial portfolio including Bloomingdale’s, Galeries Lafayette, Sprint, The Peninsula Hotel, Visa and Coca Cola. Actor and close friend Jackie Chan owns the largest collection of his work.
Nisinake describes his big “Ah-Ha!” moment as stemming from the graphic design and fashion illustration projects he was assigned at art school that involved experimenting in different mediums. “I quickly developed a feel for working with paper and began experimenting with different types, finding ways to shape, bend and round its edges”, he explains. “I wanted to manipulate paper in the least invasive way, retaining its integrity and fell. To me paper is a living, breathing thing with a life of its own. I just redirect that energy into something that feels animated and alive.”
