From paintings resembling the folds in origami to recycled pages glued and sewn together, Nick West has seamlessly brought together his recent and previous works for the first time.

A UK native, West was born in Brighton and studied Fine Art at the Kent Institute of Art & Design in Canterbury, specialising in Graphic Fine Art. He worked in London until 2010, when he was captivated by Japan and its art history on his first visit, prompting him to pack up his bags and move to Tokyo. He has been living in Tokyo ever since, working as a lecturer at Joshibi University of Art and Design; a writer for Genso, Tokyo Art Beat and Metropolis; and an organiser for Canvas Artist Talks. West is also a member of the artist collective Art Byte Critique.

His first solo exhibition in Tokyo, “On Paper” at Koenji’s CLOUDS ART + COFFEE, will only feature artworks made of or from paper, such as ‘Subway Origami’ (2013), a painting that combines the design of the Tokyo Metro map and origami folds, or ‘A-Z²’ (2017), a piece that uses recycled materials from a previous artwork to shape 26 books, each resembling a different letter of the alphabet.
“On Paper” consists of a main installation, a square canvas, a series of collages and a print, each made of or from paper. His works blend the process of abstraction with the possibilities of language, as stories are embedded into his art.

Discover the narratives from the works of “On Paper” that are not on paper.

“On Paper”
CLOUDS ART + COFFEE,  2-25-4 Koenji-kita, Suginami-ku
May 22 – May 27, 10am – 6pm.

Opening reception on Friday, May 25 from 6pm to 8pm, which the artist will attend.

Artist’s talk (held in English) on Sunday, May 27 from 3pm to 4pm, where there will be an introduction to his work, his influences and what lead him to make the works.