Shawn Kemp Art
Born from mathematics.
Chosen by hand.
Made only once.
Dimensional paper sculptures, cut and hand-assembled in my Bellingham studio. Each one begins as an algorithm capable of endless variation. I run it until a composition holds, then that single output becomes a physical object. No prints. No reproductions. No second runs.
One of one.
Every piece I make exists exactly once. No reprints, no second runs, no “limited editions of 500.” The algorithm will never produce it again, and neither will I. If you own it, you are the only person in the world who does.
Drawn from mathematics.
Spirals, lattices, branching patterns. The same geometry that shapes a nautilus shell and a river delta, written as code and cut into archival board. The beauty was already in the math. My work is giving it a body you can hang on a wall.
Chosen from the infinite.
The system I built can generate without end. Almost all of it I let go. I run it, and I wait, and most of what appears is not the piece. Then something arrives holding a balance the others lacked. That one gets made.
Collections & Events
Where it comes from
The natural world is mathematical. The spiral of a nautilus shell. The branching of a river. The tight geometry of a sunflower's seed head. These patterns aren't decoration. They're the structural logic underneath everything that grows.
I write systems that work in those geometries. A seed defines what can appear. A set of boundaries defines how far it can stray. Between them sits a space with no floor and no ceiling, capable of more compositions than I could look at in a lifetime.
So I look, and I discard. Dozens of outputs for every one that survives. The decision is not rational. I am waiting for the moment the math and the eye agree, and I know it when it arrives. That output is then decomposed into vector layers, cut from archival board, and assembled by hand in my studio.
The result is dimensional. Twelve, sometimes more, layers of paper stacked into a sculpture you can hang on a wall. Light moves across it differently throughout the day. Shadows shift. The piece doesn't sit still.
That's the part technology can't do. The waiting. The choosing. The building.
01 — Handmade
Shawn personally cuts and assembles each edition layer by layer using precision laser technology and archival paper stock. Nothing is made in batches.
02 — Shipped
Once complete (typically 2 to 4 weeks), your edition is carefully packaged and shipped. You'll receive a tracking number when it's on its way.
03 — Yours
Each piece is one of a kind, signed, and numbered. It comes with a digital certificate of authenticity linked to its unique hash.
Work With Me
In 2026, I'm donating 26 original artworks to charity galas and fundraising auctions. I'm also talking with galleries about carrying the work, and with curators about exhibitions. If any of that is you, I'd like to hear from you.