Matthew Shlian — Omoplata Series: Black V2

Additional view of Omoplata Series: Black V2

Matthew Shlian (b. 1980)

Omoplata Series: Black V2 [GIE-206 “Omoplata Series: Black, Black V2 Edition of 10], 2019

Curve-folded paper, low relief

30.5 × 30.5 × 1.3 cm

Edition of 10

Collection of Bre Pettis

CA.2022.001

Attribution card📥 7×5 in 6×4 in A5 Letter PDF

Produced with Ghostly International in 2019, Shlian's Omoplata series applies curve folding — creasing paper along arcs rather than straight lines — to coax flat sheets into low-relief sculpture in a strictly monochrome palette. The name is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu shoulder lock: "I made the series thinking about what happens when one set of curves interlocks on another set of curves — one on one axis and another on a second axis — how those shapes would stop each other from turning." Black V2 is one of three black variants, each an edition of ten, twelve inches square and half an inch deep; in black-on-black the pattern surfaces only in raking light. I bought this one directly from Ghostly. Sources: https://ghostly.com/products/omoplata-series-black · https://design-milk.com/meet-matt-shlians-omoplata-series-of-sculpture-for-ghostly-international/