Paper sculptor Richard Sweeney is hoping to take a bite out of the Big Apple art market with a bid to stage an exhibition in New York.
Richard, 30, of Newsome, has joined forces with two other artists to raise £5,800 to take work across the Atlantic for a three-day ‘pop up’ show.
Richard, fellow paper artist Andy Singleton and neon artist Richard Wheater have launched a Kickstarter appeal to fund their Nude not Naked exhibition.
Click below to view their work
The trio, who are all based at studios in Wakefield, are asking for pledges to meet the £5,800 target.
The bid must reach the target by February 21 or all promised cash is lost.
Richard, a former student at Newsome High School and Greenhead College in Huddersfield, creates large scale sculptures from paper.
But while origami is creating from a single sheet of paper Richard uses multiple sheets.
Full-time artist Richard has already exhibited work in the States but this would be the first time he has organised his own exhibition.
The exhibition will take place at Hawkeye Crates in Brooklyn from April 17-19 and Richard said: “Brooklyn is one of the most influential places when it comes to the creative industry. This is a really exciting opportunity for us.”
Richard is currently working on his new exhibits, likely to be life-sized abstract figures. He expects to take three works to New York.
The biggest cost of staging the exhibition will be packing and shipping the artworks and Richard said: “The works are quite delicate and we have to make sure they are well protected.”
The costs also include flights and accommodation for the three artists and a professional PR and marketing campaign.
“We have pared the costs as low as we can,” said Richard, who added that selling the works in New York would be a bonus.
Those backing the exhibition with cash are being offered rewards such as prints, original sculptures or even a sculpture masterclass in New York.
The appeal has reached the halfway point and Richard is hopeful the total can be achieved.
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