Eric Joisel, French sculptor...

...of origami, died at age 53:

Mr. Joisel...was widely regarded as one of the most illustrious origami artists in the world.

Originally trained as a sculptor, Mr. Joisel was largely self-taught in origami, and his work resembles that of no other artist in the genre. Part sculpture, part paper-folding and all rigorous engineering, his art embodies people, animals and fantasy figures in an array of dimensions from palm-size to life-size.

To devise the blueprint for a single figure could take him years. To fold one could take hundreds of hours — a very large work might entail a rectangle of paper measuring more than 15 feet by 25 feet, roughly the size of a New York studio apartment. No two figures were precisely alike.This piece is titled, "Mask, 'Nick.'"