From limitations come creativity. It’s an age-old adage that’s been repeated in almost every industry. And it rings true for the Netherland-based artist Peter Gentenaar, whose billowing paper sculptures were born out of what he couldn’t do with commercial paper. As a printmaker, Gentenaar’s search for a better type of paper led him to an unexpected process of creating his own custom beater that processes and mills long-fiber paper pulp into the material he now uses in his artwork. “My sculptures start as totally 2-dimensional,” says Gentenaar, describing the process in which his organic forms come to life. As the wet pulp dries around the bamboo framework it begins to shrink and curl, “just as a leaf when it drys.”

The resulting sculptures—massive, yet delicate—seem to resemble underwater organisms gracefully floating in water. The pieces are then suspended in mid-air in sprawling spaces like churches. His latest, completed last month, is on display above the main restaurant at Hotel Indigo St. Petersburg. (via My Modern Met)