Marisa Aragón Ware grew up wandering through the Rocky Mountain forests of Colorado, where she reveled in nature’s diversity. There, she learned about woodland wildflowers, fungi, birds, and more with the help of her dad, who is a scientist. Over time, her fascination with organic forms made its way into an evolving art practice.
Based in Boulder, Ware continues to spend time in the woods, taking inspiration from flora and fauna alike. Through a meticulous process of cutting and scoring paper, she creates delicate curves to imitate the volume of leaves or bones and defines feathers, insect wings, and petals with precise veins and edges.
Paper became Ware’s medium of choice because she finds beauty and awe in a material we use so often in daily life that we hardly give it a second thought. “Paper is deeply familiar—everyone has handled it, written grocery lists on it, folded it, torn it, discarded it,” she tells Colossal. “Because it’s such an everyday material, there’s something especially powerful about transforming it into something unexpected.”
Biodiversity and ecosystem interdependence are themes running throughout Ware’s work, and she’s especially interested in the theory of biophilia. The hypothesis posits that humans inherently seek connections with nature on multiple levels. “Our need for nature extends far beyond physical survival; it also nourishes imagination, spirituality, and our sense of meaning,” Ware says. “Through my sculptures, I hope to create moments of wonder that help viewers reconnect with that ancient relationship and perhaps feel more compelled to protect it.”
Precision and control are key in Ware’s practice, but she has recently been privileging experimentation and a loosening-up of her approach. “I’ve been asking myself what may have been lost in the process of becoming technically skilled and how I can return to a beginner’s mindset without abandoning the abilities I’ve spent decades developing,” she says. “That questioning has led me to incorporate new processes and materials, including cyanotypes, allowing myself to work in ways that are less controlled, more intuitive, and more exploratory.”
Ware’s work is included in Common Waters at Arch Enemy Arts, which opens on June 5. See more on Ware’s Instagram. You might also enjoy Manabu Kosaka’s hyperrealistic paper sculptures of retro technology.
