In this video, artist Jae Ko creates and installs "Force of Nature." © The Phillips Collection, 2010

Jae Ko's large, three-part installation, "Force of Nature," created for the Phillips, is made from rolls of kraft paper, often used for wrapping and packing, that the artist re-rolled and stacked against the walls in different configurations. Envisioned specifically for the area connecting the Goh Annex and the Sant Building, one section of the installation fills the space between floor and ceiling, and then spills down the wall beside the stairs; two other stacks descend gradually, like gentle slopes or streams. Force of Nature dwells on both the beauty and power of natural forces within an architectural setting.

Ko works exclusively in paper. Experimenting with different kinds of paper (from rice paper to newspaper to adding-machine paper), she rolls, cuts, glues, soaks, and dyes it, manipulating her material into sculptural forms. Her sculptures encompass wall reliefs and floor pieces, made of large bundles of paper that are either stacked rigidly against the wall or fall naturally according to the whims of gravity. Ko finds inspiration in nature, and her forms readily evoke organic matter-tree rings, tornadoes, twisted hair, seeds. 
Born in Korea, Ko lives and works in Washington, D.C. She received a B.F.A. from Wako University, Tokyo, Japan, and an M.F.A. from Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally, and is in the permanent collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the Washington Convention Center, all in Washington, D.C. Ko's work is also currently on view at Marsha Mateyka Gallery. © The Phillips Collection, 2010