Paper, a medium with an extensive and storied past, finds its roots in ancient China around 105 CE, during the Han Dynasty. Credited to the court official Cai Lun, this revolutionary invention was crafted from a blend of mulberry bark, hemp, fishnets, and rags. Its lightweight, versatile, and easily produced qualities quickly set it apart from earlier writing materials like bamboo, silk, and papyrus. Over the centuries, paper became a key medium for recording knowledge, fostering communication, and preserving culture, solidifying its importance in human history. From the unbreakable tradition of ink calligraphy through the invention of print press and later serial production of fine art prints paper journeys through time, space, geographies and cultures.

Throughout the centuries paper has been central to human expression, straddling the line between functional tool and cultural artifact. Highlighted by the increasing dominance of digital communication, the paper has evolved to occupy a space between a quick note, powerful archival tool or way to send one’s artistic message. Being historically more fragile than canvas, works on paper are often viewed as less important and priced lower, compared to more conventional mediums like sculpture or painting. Yet, there is certain intimacy, poetry and significance that can only be visible on paper whether drawn on, collaged or printed on. The act of drawing itself, once seen merely as a preparatory phase, has grown into a fully recognized artistic practice. As a substrate for drawings, prints, and collages, paper becomes a site of exploration for materiality, memory, and narrative.

This mass production capability also shifts the value of the artwork from being an exclusive, one-off creation to a commodity with multiple iterations, which can be sold and distributed widely. The economic implications of this shift are important—while an original canvas might remain a rare, high-priced item, a print on paper can be marketed more broadly, creating a form of art consumption that reflects the capitalist mechanisms of mass production and commodification. The increasing use of paper in this way highlights not just the material’s utility but also how it facilitates the reproducibility that defines much of today’s art market, revealing a capitalist edge in how paper has become an artifact that is both a tool and a product of mass art production.
Paper Show puts together artworks by established and emerging artists from Kazakhstan that in one way or another use this important medium in their work. Ranging between editioned copies and unique objects the artworks in the exhibition span from late the 1980-s to today.
Amir Shakar, Vladislav Sludskiy, ChatGPT