Deborah Claxton

AMERICAN CUT PAPER ARTIST

Estate of Deborah Claxton. All rights reserved.

Representing the Estate of Deborah Claxton, Woodward Gallery invites audiences to rediscover the artist’s extraordinary work through A Closer Look. This intimate online presentation explores the remarkable artistry and meticulous process behind her hand- cut paper compositions.

Deborah Claxton (1950- 2025) studied art at various universities in the US and abroad. She developed a layering process with the brand Coloraid paper for its color variety and thick-stock paper. Her sculptural studies helped her envision the process from the bottom up, preconceiving shadows and lighting for the completed collage. Rather than using paint to create depth, Claxton would cut and layer bits of paper to form dimensional perception.

To create a single hand-cut paper painting, Claxton engaged in an exacting, almost ritualistic process that required absolute concentration in her work. Claxton always photographed by camera what she saw as inspiration. She would begin with a pencil drawing of her envisioned composition, with each a work of art in its own right, and a selection of over 300 Coloraid paper colors. Her designs were formed into shapes, with each shape assigned a number representing its color from her chosen palette. This drawing would become her map to build what came next. 

Individual shapes were traced from her original drawing onto the Coloraid paper and carefully carved using curved manicure scissors. Working under a magnifying lens, Claxton meticulously assembled and layered these delicate pieces, effectively “painting” with paper to achieve intricacy and sculptural precision. She followed the edges of the cut paper’s exposed white sides with permanent markers to further refine her composition.

Though appearing abstract up close, thousands of individually cut and layered pieces of paper come together to create a richly dimensional final image, where color, light, and shadow give the illusion of painting. Claxton’s choice of imagery may feel familiar, yet is transformed through her singular artistic vision. The astonishing complexity is only revealed upon closer inspection. This surprising transformation, from countless fragments of paper into a complete and compelling image, makes Claxton’s work so remarkable and utterly original.