Paper possesses a living memory. A crease, folded, or water, applied - these actions are irreversibly etched. Paper remembers. In my origami-based practice, I fold intricately detailed sculptures of human figures, each from a single uncut square of paper, exploring the intersections of memory, subjecthood, and identity. Because my sculptural process is neither additive or subtractive, but rather, transformative, my work materializes the way that we as subjects are wholly constituted by our memories and experiences, the paper from which we are formed. Fold by fold, I transmute paper into a living membrane of memory, with each fold playing a necessary but often unseen role.

Just as certain elements of our identities are more immediately visible than others, each of my figures is constituted of both the geometries of internal creases, hidden from the eye of the viewer, and the visible external details formed through dozens of hours of wetting, sculpting, and drying the work. Each piece is a mirror, reflecting that external appearances deceive, that multitudes make us, that we are nothing but the fragile fabric of our lived experiences made visible.

My recent work has focused on storytelling. Whereas paper is typically used to deliver stories told via the written word, my recent work inverts this by using the paper itself to tell stories. Each piece captures an emotional moment that speaks of events unshown, inviting the viewer to fill the space with their own perceptions and experiences. In doing so, I use sculpture as a means not just of depiction, but of communication.

2024, Affordable Art Fair New York - Spring, Affordable Art Fair, New York, NY

2024, National Fine Art Show, Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, CO

2024, 10x10x10xTieton, Tieton Arts & Humanities, Tieton, WA

2023-2024, Korea Global Creative Jongie Jupgi Contest, Jong Ie Nara Paper Art Museum (Entries D-11, D-12, D-13), Seoul, South Korea

2024, Paper Circle Origami Virtual Exhibition, Paper Circle, Nelsonville, OH

2023, 10x10x10xTieton, Tieton Arts & Humanities, Tieton, WA
2023, Show Off, Virginia Beach Art Center, Virginia Beach, VA

2023, OrigamiUSA Convention Exhibition, Times Square Sheraton, New York, NY
2022, The Origami Holiday Tree, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
2022, Paper Meditations, Haverford College Visual, Culture, Arts & Media Building, Haverford, PA
2022, OrigaMIT Convention Exhibition, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA
2022, OrigamiUSA Convention Exhibition, Times Square Sheraton, New York, NY
2022, Chicago Area Origami Society Exhibition, Schaumburg Township District Library, Schaumburg, IL

2024, 1st Place - 3D Category, Lincoln Gallery National Fine Art Show, Loveland, CO

2024, Juror’s Award Winner, 10x10x10xTieton, Tieton, WA

2024, Sara Gilfert Award (Best in Show), Paper Circle, Nelsonville, OH

2023, Silver Award - Chairman of the Korea Paper Culture Art Competition, Korea Global Creative Jongie Jupgi Contest (Entry D-13), Seoul, Korea

2023, Commended Award - Chairperson of the Korea Paper Culture Foundation, Korea Global Creative Jongie Jupgi Contest (Entry D-12), Seoul, Korea

2023, Short Listed Award - Jong Ie Nara Paper Art Museum, Korea Global Creative Jongie Jupgi Contest (Entry D-11), Seoul, Korea

2022, Certificate of Artistic Achievement, Luxembourg Art Prize, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
2022, Joisel Award - Figurative, Artistic Category, Community For Creators, Global
2022, Hurford Center Student Arts Fund Grant, Haverford College, Haverford, PA

2023, Connecticut: Make It Here, Big Object Studio, Brooklyn, NY

2023, 10x10 Catalog, Tieton Arts & Humanities, Tieton, WA

2023, Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Level Up,Ripley Publishing, Orlando, FL
2023, Milton Keynes 2023 Model Collection, British Origami Society, Britain, UK
2022, The Paper, Issue #140, OrigamiUSA, New York, NY
2022, OrigaMIT Convention Book, Massachusetts Institute of Techonlogy, Boston, MA

VisualFlood, “Origami artist Chris Conrad creates incredible sculptures from single pieces of paper,” 3/26/24
Stash, “Coed Studios and Cronin Lead the Charge to Rebrand Connecticut,” 12/23/23

MyModernMet, “Origami Artist Creates a Dragon Hunter Sculpture From a Single Piece of Paper,” 2/25/23

Netorabo, “これを1枚の紙から……!?　折り紙アーティストが作り出す天使や騎士がまるで彫刻,” 4/1/23

CulturaWow, “Artista crea una increíble escultura de un cazador de dragones a partir de una simple hoja de papel,” 3/1/23

Neatorama, “This Cool Sculpture Of A Dragon Slayer Was Made Of One Sheet Of Paper,” 2/28/23

MyModernMet, “Origami Artist Folds a Stone Angel Figure Using a Single Sheet of Paper,” 7/18/22  
Haverblog, “Chris Conrad ‘22 Brings Paper to Life,” 5/2/22
Yahoo Entertainment, “US man creates BREATHTAKING giant origami statue,” 6/30/22
Good News Network, “Student Makes Incredible Origami Statue From a Single Sheet of Paper – Watch the Time-lapse Video,” 7/3/22
Laughing Squid, “A Fantastic Life Sized Origami Dragon Tamer Folded From a Single Sheet of Paper,” 5/5/22
News of Canada, “Artist spent 15 hours folding angel origami from a single sheet of paper,” 7/19/22
95.9 The River, “Man Folds 5’9” Origami “Dragon Tamer” From One Single Piece of Paper,” 7/7/22
The Awesomer, “Life-Size Origami Dragon Tamer,” 5/3/22
Talker News, “Student creates outstanding 5-foot-9-inch statue from single piece of paper,” 7/6/22
bookofjoe, “Origami Ohmu - Chris Conrad,” 11/13/21

Reddit, #1, #5, #23 on the front page