Giant Origami Sculptures Will Amaze in Winchester’s MSV Gardens Beginning May 28

Larger-than-life origami sculptures made of metal will be on view throughout seven acres of gardens at Winchester’s Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (MSV) from May 28 through November 13, 2022, when the MSV presents the acclaimed traveling exhibition ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN.

To celebrate the opening of ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN, the MSV will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout Memorial Day weekend, including Monday, May 30.

An outdoor exhibition created by Santa Fe artists Jennifer and Kevin Box, ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN presents the Japanese art of folding paper as metal sculpture. The MSV display features 11 installations in the formal gardens and presents paper origami models and “unfolded” cast aluminum wall hangings in the Glen Burnie House.

The placement of the sculptures encourages visitors to explore some of the most picturesque locations in the MSV formal gardens.  A group of four colorful, painted ponies are framed by more than 20 crabapple trees in the Grand Allée, a boat balances nearly 11 feet in the air on metal oars near a spring-fed stream, and a flying crane with a 12-foot wing span graces the entrance to the Asian Garden.

The tallest sculpture in the exhibition, a butterfly 13 feet in height, emerges from a chrysalis. The smallest metal sculpture, a 12-inch bronze acorn, weighs 35 pounds and is included in a display featuring a squirrel that is seven feet in height.

The sculptures on view in the gardens are made of aluminum, bronze, and steel, with some sculptures mounted on stone bases. The exhibit in the Glen Burnie House features intricate origami models of a butterfly, boat, flying crane, and a Pegasus created from uncut pieces of paper. The paper models are complemented by four metal wall hangings that reveal the complex crease patterns and folds hidden beneath the surface of the origami.

Along with works created by Jennifer and Kevin Box, ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN features collaborations with world-renowned origami artists Robert J. Lang, Te Jui Fui, Beth Johnson, Michal G. LaFosse, and Tim Armijo.

According to MSV Deputy Director of Art and Education, Nancy Huth, ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN offers visitors a unique opportunity to enjoy both nature and art. She anticipates that the exhibition will intrigue origami aficionados as well as inspire those discovering origami for the first time during their MSV visit. Exhibition attendees who wish to hear the artists discuss the stories behind each piece in the exhibition may use their mobile phones to access an audio tour.

Admission to ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN—which includes admission to the MSV galleries—is $15 for adults, $10 for youth ages 13–18 and seniors (60+), and $5 for ages 5–12. Exhibition admission is free to ages 4 and under and to MSV members. Visitors may bring picnics to enjoy on the MSV grounds, and they may purchase ice cream, light snacks, and ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN souvenirs at a special Pop-Up Shop in the gardens and in the Museum Store.

The MSV display of ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN has been made possible thanks to generous sponsorship from the Valley’s corporate community, including exhibition partners Perry Engineering Company, Inc. and iHeartMedia and the following sponsors: Sugarplum Tent Company; Marlow Motors; Bank of Clarke County Foundation; Blauch Brothers, Inc.; Chick-fil-A; Crescent Cities Charities, Inc.; Four Winds Tree Experts; H.N. Funkhouser & Co. and Handy Mart; The George Washington Hotel; Lantz Construction Winchester; Love at First Bite Catering and Events; Reader & Swartz Architects; Shenandoah Foot & Ankle Center; Six Star Events, LLC; The Winchester Group, Inc; and Yount, Hyde & Barbour.

A regional cultural center, the MSV is located at 901 Amherst Street in Winchester, Virginia. The MSV campus includes galleries displaying permanent and rotating exhibitions, the Glen Burnie House, seven acres of formal gardens, and The Trails at the MSV, a free-admission art park open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk. The gardens, ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN exhibition, and the galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Mondays, except for this Memorial Day in celebration of ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN). Additional details are available here or by calling 540-662-1473, ext. 235. –END–

About ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN and Kevin Box

Jennifer and Kevin Box created ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN in 2013. The first exhibition opened at the Santa Fe Botanical Garden in 2014, and ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN has traveled to 17 botanical gardens and museum venues since that time.

Artist Kevin Box graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and now resides in Santa Fe. In 2004 he was the youngest member elected to the National Sculptors Guild. Box’s background as an art foundry production manager enabled him to pioneer a unique process that transforms paper into museum-quality metals. Over a decade of experimentation, he developed a method specifically for casting paper that captures all its details. Initially he completed each step in the casting process himself. Today he oversees the 35-step, 12-plus-week process of casting with the help of fine-art foundry and fabrication teams. Both cast and fabricated works make up the sculptures in ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN.