Even with the purported decline of mailed media, the envelope is ever present in our lives. With it we wrap our communications, readying them in the protective, time-release sleeve of the envelope, for both long and short journeys.

Envelopes bear the gifts we give and receive. We anticipate with dread or delight as we tear open the neat folds. While these origamic cradles can enclose bad news or impersonal communication, they always embody the magic of potentiality and anticipation. The envelope, as a carrier and frame for correspondence, is also a timely metaphor for the action of effective artwork—art that frames or reframes the way we see the world.

These simple transformations of plain paper—simultaneously aesthetic and functional—bears further consideration. This month we share a variety of artists’ experiments into the possible forms and functions of the envelope.