Cadaver Cross-sections

If you'll be in NYC over the next month, head over to see the Connective Tissue exhibit by Lisa Nilsson, a Masschusetts-based artist who makes incredibly detailed anatomy cross-sections from quilled paper. We have been following her painstakingly beautiful work for a while. Nilsson told us her first exposure to the rolled paper technique known as quilling was at a junk shop in Vermont, where she spotted a gilt crucifix, delicately quilled in tightly rolled circles. She first incorporated the technique in abstract box assemblage pieces, but later brought quilling to her anatomy cross-sections. Nilsson's interest in scientific imagery led a friend to send her a link to an image of a 19th century hand-colored photograph of a sectioned cadaver. "That image was the inspiration for my first anatomical piece," Nilsson told us via e-mail. Her work is on view at Pavel Zoubok Gallery at 531 W 26th Street in Chelsea through Nov. 9th.