Yuko Nishikawa

Yuko Nishikawa: Seamless Paper to Installations
Exhibition
Fri, Feb 20–Fri, Mar 13
Campbell Corner Gallery

Paper to Sculpture to Paper
Student Workshop
Fri, Feb 20, 12–1 PM
Campbell Van Lengen Lobby

This exhibition recreates artist Yuko Nishikawa’s Brooklyn studio, where she transforms waste seamless paper—thick, non-reflective matte paper used as backgrounds for photography, videography, and displays—into pulp and then a clay-like sculpting material. Over time, her studio has shifted from a ceramics workspace to an installation laboratory, with overhead cables suspending sculptural studies and mockups as she experiments with texture, color, form, and scale. 

The installation features Nishikawa's suspended mobiles and a central work table where visitors can touch and explore paper-processing tools, wire-forming equipment, and tactile paper-clay assemblies. 

A complementary workshop, Paper to Sculpture to Paper, introduces students to Nishikawa’s material processes. The artist will discuss why she works with paper, demonstrate pulping methods, and guide participants in forming their own paper clay sculptures. The workshop is free and open to any UVA students (limited to 15 participants). 

About the Artist

^{Yuko Nishikawa. Photo: Matthew Williams}

Yuko Nishikawa’s paintings, sculptures, and installations evoke joy and wonder through color, movement, and a diverse materiality. Her work explores the physical interaction between humans, objects, and their surroundings and their connection to emotions and senses. In her work, mediums like clay, wire, light, and industrial components and found objects like lenses, beach plastics and seamless paper compose a playful visual and sensory language.  Born and raised in Japan and trained in interior and furniture design in NYC, Nishikawa combines crafts, materials science, and spatial study to create transformative experiences.

Nishikawa’s work has been exhibited worldwide. Some of her permanent installations can be found in Brooklyn, New York, Watertown, Massachusetts, Frisco, Texas and Tokyo, Japan. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

This exhibition and workshop are part of Leftovers: Rethinking Waste in Design, an exhibition and public programs series to rethink how we make, reuse, and imagine materials and environments in a time of climate urgency, generously supported by UVA Arts Council.