Delicate mystical fairies of onion skin dance through the air above while light filters through from the cathedral windows...
Peter Gentenaar is a visionary artist who has a fond passion for working with paper. Featuring over 100 of his majestic paper sculptures in the Abbey Church of Saint Riquier in Northern France, the church’s grand ornate ceilings perfectly complement Gentenaar’s whimsical and heavenly inventions... An illusion of angels gracefully gliding through the skies.

Rosy reds, mellow creams, piercing blues, rich golds and regal purples float high above in a captured perfection of movement. The paper structures start out as two-dimensional colored sheets of pulp. After a long pulping and drying process, which will cause the paper to undergo shrinking afterwards, the intricate curves and folds are reinforced with very thin ribs of bamboo to illuminate the overall exquisite structure.














"Gradually I found that the single sheet of paper, which had not dried yet, had all the possibilities I needed. A paper sheet is thin and strong and can be compared to the leaf on a tree or plant. Reinforced with very thin ribs of bamboo that look like the ribs of a leaf, the analogy between the sheet of paper and the plant form is emphasized even more."

The exposition of paper sculptures in the Abbey Church of Saint Riquier lasts until September 19th.

Heavenly, ethereal elevations, buoy the spirit through artistry and skill... xoxo-Sonya