Prismatic Menagerie: Origami-Inspired Sculptures by Hacer

Exhibition open June 1, 2024 – May 31, 2026

We are adding a bold pop of color to the Cache corridor this summer! Take a wander on the wild side and explore the Prismatic Menagerie from the National Museum of Wildlife Art to Center for the Arts—it’s a straight shot down Cache/Hwy 89. With five bold origami-inspired sculptures, this exciting outdoor exhibition brings Hacer’s work to Jackson Hole through a collaboration between two of Jackson’s impactful art institutions.

The artist known as Hacer, which in Spanish is the verb meaning “to make,” creates sculptures from steel, which he appears to seamlessly fold into various abstractions and animal forms. His animals, including bears, rabbits, and an even more fantastical Pegasus, take their shape from origami, an artform that originated in East Asia, which Hacer became fascinated with in childhood. He was seven years old and living in a foster home when he first heard the story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, by Eleanor Coerr.

His determination to become a sculptor and develop his technique came after seeing the innovative sculptures of the well-known artist Alexander Calder. Hacer learned firsthand about experimenting with form and color while fabricating works for Jeff Koons and Ellsworth Kelly.

Hacer’s vibrantly colored, whimsical origami-inspired animal sculptures underlie deeper, more complex issues and relate to people of all ages. Cub, Sitting, acquired by the National Museum of Wildlife Art in November 2023, adds to the assemblage of larger-than-life animals set along the sculpture trail. His installation at the Museum includes four sculptures (a bear, a rabbit, a coyote, and a canine) and will be a striking attraction amidst the natural backdrop of the Museum’s Sculpture Trail. The exhibition also includes Bixby, a magenta elephant located at Center for the Arts.