Rogan Brown

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Art

Exquisitely Cut Paper Sculptures by Rogan Brown Highlight the Effects of Coral Bleaching

“The coral reef is a microcosm of a macrocosm,” says paper artist Rogan Brown. “What is happening to the reefs today will ultimately happen to the planet tomorrow unless action is taken.” Through new paper sculptures comprised of delicately fringed sea creatures, Brown (previously) creates a striking visual display of the disastrous impacts of the climate crisis on marine life, showing how issues like coral bleaching can radiate outward into the wider world.

In “Ghost Coral,” two circular reliefs comprised of intricate paper cuttings splay outward, layering the fragile lifeforms sliced from stark, white paper. These monochromatic pieces contrast their vibrant counterparts, which are nestled into the protective center of one of the masses. The other work, titled “Coral Garden,” is Brown’s interpretation of the heat-resistant organisms that scientists grow and plant in deteriorating patches for rejuvenation, and he places bright, healthy creatures, which are enclosed in transparent bubbles, within swaths of spindly, pale creatures. To create both pieces, Brown follows the same meticulous process, which involves drawing the organisms, cutting them out with a laser, and carefully hand-painting and mounting them into their final, sprawling forms. “The fragility and delicacy of paper seem to fit perfectly with the subject it is describing,” he tells Colossal.

The exquisitely crafted assemblages shown here are part of an ongoing series, which Brown will show this month at Galerie Bettina von Arnim in Paris, and you can keep up with his work on Instagram.

 

Art

“Cytokinesis Variations” Show Cell Division in Dramatic 3 Foot-Wide Paper Sculptures by Rogan Brown

Paper artist Rogan Brown (previously) uses an accessible, universally recognized material to convey complex and minuscule biological processes. Two of his most recent sculptural works, Cytokinesis Variations, showcase cell division, also known as mitosis. “At any given moment millions of cells in your body are dividing and multiplying in order to replenish and maintain your skin, hair, intestine and bodily organs, etc. Cytokinesis is the final and most dramatic stage of mitosis when the cell wall ruptures and splits in two to form identical daughter cells. I have tried to freeze the ultimate moment of transformation and becoming,” Brown tells Colossal.

The large-scale sibling sculptures, each reaching 47 inches long, are created using hand- and laser-cut white paper paper carefully arranged in layers to convey the dramatic energy of mitosis. “Paper, my chosen material, embodies the paradoxical qualities that we see in nature: its fragility and durability, its strength and delicacy,” Brown explains in an artist statement. “There is a pleasing poetic symmetry in taking this material that was cut from the forest and by cutting and transforming it once again returning it to its origins.”

Cytokinesis Variations will be on display as part of an exhibition and sale on the history of science, natural history, and technology, at Sotheby’s running December 11-17, 2019. Brown’s work is also part of a new permanent exhibition at the Wellcome Collection in London, which opened September 5, 2019. The artist tells Colossal that he is currently working on a coral themed piece called Reef Goddess which scales 10 feet in length and is based around a silhouette of the entire human body. Keep up with Brown’s science-inspired artwork on Instagram and Facebook.

Art Science

The Human Microbiome Reimagined as a Cut-Paper Coral Reef by Rogan Brown

Using the visual metaphor of a coral reef, artist Rogan Brown (previously) introduces his audience to the diverse bacteria, archaea, fungi found in the human body through paper-based sculptures. The detailed works are created after months of research and hunting for aesthetic parallels that might link the two surprisingly similar worlds.

His series Magical Circle Variations merge these sources of inspiration with a pastel color scheme that can also be found in a coral habitat. “What the reef and the microbiome have in common is that they both consist of biodiverse colonies of organisms that coexist more or less harmoniously,” Brown explains. “There are further parallels between coral and human beings in that we are both symbiont organisms, that is we depend on a mutually beneficial relationship with another species: coral only receive their beautiful colors from varieties of algae that live on them and human beings can only exist thanks to the unimaginably huge and diverse number of bacteria that live in and on them.”

Brown hopes that his intricate paper sculptures will allow his audience to more greatly conceptualize the bacteria-based landscape of the human body. Works like these will be exhibited with C Fine Art at the upcoming Art Market Hamptons July 5-8, 2018. You can see more of his work on his website.

Art

Hand and Laser Cut Paper Microbes by Rogan Brown

Artist Rogan Brown (previously) recently completed work on his latest menagerie of paper microorganisms titled Magic Circle. The collection of both hand and laser-cut specimens are inspired by tree moss, cell structures, bacteria, coral, diatoms, and radiolaria. The piece will be on view at Aqua Art Fair in Miami through C. Emerson Fine Arts. (via Colossal Submissions)

Art Science

A Sprawling New Cut Paper Bacterium by Rogan Brown

Artist Rogan Brown (previously) recently completed work on this new cut paper sculpture titled Cut Microbe. Four months in the making, the piece is a continuation of Brown’s exploration of the human biome and was inspired by the form of salmonella and ecoli bacteria (this 44″ sculpture is about half a million times bigger than the real thing). The sculpture will be on view this May as part of a commission by the Eden Project in the UK. You can see more of Rogan’s work on his website.

Art Science

Outbreak: Hand Cut Paper Microbes and Pathogens by Rogan Brown

Artist Rogan Brown (previously) just completed work on his latest paper artwork titled Outbreak, a piece he describes as an exploration “of the microbiological sublime.” Over four months in the making, the work depicts an array of interconnected sculptures—entirely hand cut from paper—based on the smallest structures found within the human body: cells, microbes, pathogens, and neurons. Outbreak represents nearly four months of tedious planning, cutting and assembly. He shares about his process:

I am inspired in part by the tradition of scientific drawing and model making, and particularly the work of artist-scientists such as Ernst Haeckel. But although my approach involves careful observation and detailed “scientific” preparatory drawings, these are always superseded by the work of the imagination; everything has to be refracted through the prism of the imagination, estranged and in some way transformed.

You can see more details over in his portfolio.