about kaleidowall.

artist statement.

For Kelli Nyman, openness and order invoke calm and safety.  Rhythm, movement, and tactility evoke joy and exuberance.  Nyman’s work emerges from the intersection of these two emotional places. 

By assembling hand-folded paper units, she meticulously “paints” wall sculptures that express and reflect these concepts in abstract form.  She achieves this through the use of origami folding techniques, subtly textured papers, asymmetric compositions, gradations of color, and a bit of acrylic paint.  The high relief of the work allows it to live as both a picture and a sculpture, playing with light and shadow, offering different visual experiences depending on the environmental circumstances including time of day, lighting, and the position of the viewer.

artist bio.

Kelli Nyman is an abstract paper artist living in Cambridge, MA with a studio in Somerville, MA.  Nyman considers herself self-taught, with her degree in Design & Merchandising from Drexel University and her 12-year career in marketing giving her a grounding in art, design, and business.  Since making her first paper wall sculptures in 2016, Nyman’s work has expanded to include both small pieces and large-scale installations.  Her work has been commissioned for several private and commercial collections across the US and Canada. 

Highlights include an 80 by 80-inch four-panel piece at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC., a 6 by 8-foot installation in a private home in San Francisco, CA, and a 5 by 16-foot installation in a letterpress and stationery shop in Cambridge, MA.