The paper objects are made of a so-called ”Hadernpapierstoff“, a material consisting of rag-fibres, originating from the paper-mill Mörzinger – the ”Wurzmühle“ located in A-3972 Bad Grosspertholz 76, Austria.
When talking about paper art, one usually thinks of graphics or art in and with books. It is the form of the sheet that we associate with paper per se. And yet it is also quite different. Paper, deformed or better formed into three-dimensional objects, created in the direct vicinity of the oldest Upper Austrian paper mill, the Wurzmühle, is produced by the Graz artist Hubert Lang.
The term “handmade paper” takes on a new dimension of meaning with Hubert Lang. The paper pulp he himself made from rags is the starting product for his art objects, which, depending on their shape and combination of materials, can appear delicate and fragile as well as massive and heavy. The artist allows his objects their own history of origin. During the drying process of the self-created paper, which lasts for days, sometimes even weeks, tragedies happen just as well as comedies, which leave their imprints in the paper artworks. Plant seeds, small insects or ash particles are immortalised in the still wet fibres, forming a new whole that could never have been created by planning ahead.
Dr. phil. Michaela Preiner
The term “handmade paper” takes on a new dimension of meaning with Hubert Lang. The paper pulp he himself made from rags is the starting product for his art objects, which, depending on their shape and combination of materials, can appear delicate and fragile as well as massive and heavy. The artist allows his objects their own history of origin. During the drying process of the self-created paper, which lasts for days, sometimes even weeks, tragedies happen just as well as comedies, which leave their imprints in the paper artworks. Plant seeds, small insects or ash particles are immortalised in the still wet fibres, forming a new whole that could never have been created by planning ahead.
Dr. phil. Michaela Preiner
Hubert Lang was born in Graz, Austria, in 1959. As a skilled book-binder, he extensively traveled paper-mills, such as the ”Wurzmühle Mörzinger“ in the Austrian Waldviertel or the Centro dell bel Libro in Ascona, Switzerland. It was there, where he developed his genuine interest in working with dipped paper as a basic material for his arts. Since 1995 his creative work is coined by experiments with foreign materials and moulds.