Bruce Bunting: New Works in Paper

March 4-26, 2022
Bruce Bunting: New Works in Paper
Opening reception: Friday, March 4, 5:00-9:00 PM
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Saturday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM and Friday, March 25, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM.

Bruce Bunting is a retired engineer who spent his career working in the automotive industry. He has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and worked at several machine shops. About ten years ago he became attracted to papermaking because it combined art, chemistry, materials, and equipment. One of his first motivators included working on a biofuels project with a paper mill and realizing he was more interested in the paper technology than in the fuels. He started making paper in a hotel room when on a one-year remote assignment, using a blender and a craft store papermaking kit. His first outputs were paper earrings and assemblies of small paper castings. When he retired, he built a papermaking studio at his Knoxville home and fabricated all the equipment needed. Since then, he has written articles for paper arts magazines, presented to a university paper arts class, and attended training classes at several studios. He continues on with paper exploration, including materials, equipment, and techniques and considers himself fortunate to have the time and independence to follow his heart.

For this exhibition, Bunting plans to showcase 36 new works in paper. I am calling these works “sculptural collages”: collages, because they are assembled from paper with glue, and sculptural, because the works have depth and the paper has thickness and texture. I made the paper for these pieces in my studio. I’m working more toward a sculptural approach, rather than flat work, as I want the paper itself to be the art and not just a backdrop for another media.