Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Paul Jenkins was early associated with Abstract Expressionism and noted for his experimentation with pouring paint onto canvases and for heavily impastoed, illuminated paintings with spiritual, metaphysical qualities that set him apart from many of his peers. Zen Buddhism and the writing of Carl Jung much influenced the spiritual direction of his painting.
As a teenager Paul Jenkins worked in a ceramics factory where he learned about color variations and form. Precocious in his art abilities, he became a student at the Kansas City Art Institute from 1937 to 1942, when he was ages 14 to 18.
His interest in and talent for theater earned him a fellowship to the Cleveland Playhouse, and then he went to the Drama School of the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh. From 1943 to 1945, he served in the U.S. Naval Air Corps during World War II. Then determining to be an artist, he went to New York City where he studied at the Art Students League from 1948 to 1952 and was influenced the most by instructors Yasuo Kuniyoshi and Morris Kantor. Later, becoming a teacher he was at the Santa Fe Institute of Fine Arts in 1986.
In 1953, he went to Paris where he has lived for long periods of time alternating with New York City. He first studied at the American Artists Center where he began his experiments with pouring paint on canvas in various thicknesses to create a sense of dynamism in the process itself. For him, each work became a spiritual journey of discovery, and his exposure of white canvas combined with color saturations gave a sense of illumination about his work.
A 1966 film, "The Ivory Knife: Paul Jenkins at Work," focused on his life and his working techniques.
Jenkins also became a lithographer, and many of these works as well as his early paintings reflected his interest in mysticism and his belief that his work was god inspired. In 1963, influenced by Wolfgang Wols and Mark Tobey, he began to layer pigment by pouring it in various thicknesses and designs. Fluidity and flow of paint inspired by mood characterized these paintings suggesting that the earth and its inhabitants are in a constant state of change.
Sources include:
Michael David Zellman, 300 Years of American Art
Matthew Baigell, Dictionary of American Art
Peter HastingsFalk (editor), Who Was Who in American Art
Marika Herskovic, American Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s: An Illustrated Survey
2020
Redfern Gallery, London. [online exhibition]
2018
Redfern Gallery, London.
2017
Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley, California.
2016
Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal, UK.
Chapel of Meditation. University at Buffalo Anderson Gallery, New York.
2015
The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown.
Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley.
2014
Robert Miller Gallery, New York.
Museo di Pittura Murale, Prato.
Redfern Gallery, London.
Galleria Open Art, Prato.
2012
Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley.
2011
The Redfern Gallery, London.
2010
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento.
Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley.
Palazzo Pacchiani, Prato.
Galleria Open Art, Prato.
UB Anderson Gallery, State University of New York
at Buffalo.
Galleria Civica Ezio Mariani di Seregno.
2009
D. Wigmore Fine Art, New York.
Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville.
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, New York location.
Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley, California.
2008
Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley, California.
2007
Galleria Open Art, Cornice Art Fair, Venice.
Redfern Gallery, London.
D. Wigmore Fine Art, New York.
2006
Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley, California.
Maison des Princes de Pérouges. Pérouges.
Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock.
2005
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille.
Redfern Gallery, London.
Galleria Open Art, Prato.
Abbaye de Silvacane, La Roque d'Anthéron.
Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley, California.
Galerie Proarta, Zurich.
2004
Museo Civico, Assessorato alla Cultura di Pizzighettone.
2003
Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte.
Redfern Gallery, London.
2002
Chateau Haut-Gléon, Les Corbières.
2001
Galerie Proarta, Zurich.
Centre d'Art Contemporain, Bouvet Ladubay, Saumur.
2000
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown.
Basilica Palladiana, Vicenza.
Joseph Rickards Gallery, New York.
Vero Beach Museum of Art, Vero Beach, Florida (collage retrospective).
1999
Galerie Patrice Trigano, Paris.
Hofstra Museum, Hempstead, New York.
Joseph Rickards Gallery, New York.
1998
Joseph Rickards Gallery, New York.
1997
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown.
Galerie Georges Fall, Paris.
Galerie Proarta, Zurich.
1996
Lorenzelli Arte, Milan.
1995
Artcurial, Paris (graphics).
Centre d'art contemporain, Bouvet Ladubay, Saumur.
Galerie Proarta, Zurich.
Chateau Musée Grimaldi, Cagnes sur mer.
Associated American Artists, New York.
1994
Gallery Art Point, Tokyo.
Pasquale Iannetti Gallery, San Francisco.
L'Eau et la Couleur, traveling watercolor exhibition in France.
La Maison Française, New York University, New York (collages: Hommage à Jean-Louis Barrault).
1993
Smith Andersen Gallery, Palo Alto.
Yoshii Gallery, Paris (collages).
Associated American Artists, New York (collages).
1992
Roswitha Haftmann Gallery, Zurich.
Atelier Franck Bordas, Basel Art Fair and Paris.
Guy Pieters Gallery, Knokke-le-Zoute.
Associated American Artists, New York.
1991
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York (polyptychs I).
Gimpel Fils, London (polyptychs II).
1990
Galerie Patrice Trigano, Paris.
Castello Doria, Portovenere.
Gallery Art Point, Tokyo.
1989
Musées de Nice: Galerie des Ponchettes et
Galerie d'Art Contemporain, Nice.
1988
Samuel Stein Gallery, Chicago.
Galerie Patrice Trigano, Paris.
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York (collages).
Galerie Régis Dorval, Le Touquet.
Gana Gallery, Seoul.
Galleria La Loggia, Bologna.
1987
Galerie 63, Klosters.
Samuel Stein Gallery, Chicago.
Musée Picasso, Antibes (retrospective).
Galerie Régis Dorval, Lille.
Galleri Atrium, Stockholm.
1986
Gimpel Fils, London.
MR Galleria d'Arte Contemporaneo, Rome.
Galerie Michel Delorme, Paris.
Roswitha Haftmann, Zurich.
Gallery Art Point, Tokyo.
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown (collages).
Focus Gallery, Lausanne.
Elaine Horwitch Gallery, Santa Fe and Scottsdale.
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York.
1985
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York.
Gallery Moos, Toronto.
Galerie Georges Fall, Paris.
Gallery Art Atrium, Stockholm.
FIAC, Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, Paris.
1984
Carone Gallery, Fort Lauderdale.
Musée d'Art Contemporain, Dunkirk (collages).
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York.
1983
Mead Art Museum, Amherst.
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York.
Galerie Georges Fall, Paris.
Alex Rosenberg Gallery, New York (collages).
Contemporary Gallery, Dallas.
1982
Nicoline Pon Gallery, Zurich.
Gimpel Fils, London.
I. Irving Feldman Galleries, Detroit.
Galerie Georges Fall, Paris.
Contemporary Gallery, Dallas.
1981
Belk Art Gallery, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee.
Carone Gallery, Fort Lauderdale.
Samuel Stein Gallery, Chicago.
French Cultural Services, New York, traveling to la Maison International du Théâtre, Théâtre du Rond-Point, Paris (collages: Hommage à Jean-Louis Barrault).
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York.
I. Irving Feldman Galleries, Sarasota.
1980
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, California (retrospective).
Elaine Horwitch Gallery, Scottsdale.
Gimpel Fils, London.
Contemporary Gallery, Dallas.
Galerie Karl Flinker, Paris.
1979
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York.
Baukunst Galerie, Cologne.
Elaine Horwitch Gallery, Scottsdale.
1978
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York.
Samuel Stein Gallery, Chicago.
Elaine Horwitch Gallery, Santa Fe.
Balcon des Arts, Paris.
Diane Gilson Gallery, Seattle.
Galleria d'Arte Narciso, Turin.
1977
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Zurich.
La Galerie Cours Saint-Pierre, Geneva.
Sears Bank & Trust Company, Chicago.
Contemporary Gallery, Dallas.
Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa.
Diane Gilson Gallery, Seattle.
1976
Samuel Stein Gallery, Chicago.
Galerie Karl Flinker, Paris and Basel Art Fair, Basel.
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York.
1975
Galerie Tanit, Munich.
Carone Gallery, Fort Lauderdale.
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer, New York.
1974
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Charleroi, Charleroi (retrospective).
Baukunst Galerie, Cologne.
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York.
Gimpel Fils, London.
Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus.
1973
Galerie Karl Flinker, Paris.
Art Gallery of the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame.
Lindenwood College Art Gallery, St. Charles, Missouri.
Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City.
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York.
1972
San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco (retrospective).
Gimpel Fils, London.
Abrams Original Editions, New York.
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Initiates exhibition traveling to the Amarillo Art Center, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, Lauren Rodgers Memorial Library and Art Gallery, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Witte Memorial Museum.
1971
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (retrospective).
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago.
Gertrude Kasle, Detroit.
1970
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
1969
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
1968
Galerie Daniel Gervis, Paris.
Gallery Moos, Toronto.
Galerie Räber, Lucerne.
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
1966
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
Galerie Agnès LeFort, Montreal.
Hope Makler Gallery, Philadelphia.
Arthur Tooth & Sons, London.
1965
Galerie Karl Flinker, Paris.
Gertrude Kasle Gallery, Detroit.
Court Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Gallery of Modern Art, Scottsdale.
1964
Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo.
American Art Gallery, Copenhagen.
Kumar Gallery, New Delhi.
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover (retrospective).
1963
Arthur Tooth & Sons, London.
Galerie Karl Flinker, Paris.
Gallery Moos, Toronto.
1962
Galerie Lienhard, Zurich.
Galerie Karl Flinker, Paris.
Esther Robles Gallery, Los Angeles.
Toninelli Arte Moderna, Milan.
Galleria Odyssia, Rome.
Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne.
1961
Galerie Karl Flinker, Paris.
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
University Gallery, University of Minnesota.
1960
Arthur Tooth & Sons, London.
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
Esther Robles Gallery, Los Angeles.
Galerie d'Art Moderne, Stuttgart.
1959
Galerie Stadler, Paris.
1958
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
1957
Galerie Stadler, Paris.
1956
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
1955
Zoe Dusanne Gallery, Seattle.
1954
Zimmergalerie Franck, Frankfort am Main.
Studio Paul Facchetti, Paris (first solo exhibition).
Academy Art Museum (Easton, MD)
Arizona State University Art Museum (Tempe, AZ)
Boca Raton Museum of Art (Boca Raton, FL)
Butler Institute of American Art (Youngstown, OH)
Cantor Arts Center, Stanford (Palo Alto, CA)
Chrysler Museum of Art (Norfolk, VA)
Delaware Art Museum (Wilmington, DE)
Dennos Museum Center (Traverse City, MI)
Flint Institute of Arts (Flint, MI)
Frederick R Weisman Art Museum (Minneapolis, MN)
Georgia Museum of Art (Athens, GA)
Hunter Museum of American Art (Chattanooga, TN)
Indianapolis Museum of Art (Indianapolis, IN)
Jack S Blanton Museum of Art (Austin, TX)
Kresge Art Museum (East Lansing, MI)
Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Minneapolis, MN)
Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Missouri-Columbia (Columbia, MO)
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Houston, TX)
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC (Washington, DC)
National Gallery of Victoria - Australia (Melbourne, Australia)
National Museum of American Art-Smithsonian (Washington, DC)
Neuberger Museum of Art (Purchase, NY)
Oklahoma City Museum of Art (Oklahoma City, OK)
Phoenix Art Museum (Phoenix, AZ)
Portland Art Museum, Oregon (Portland, OR)
Print Club of Albany (Schenectady, NY)
Robert Hull Fleming Museum (Burlington, VT)
San Diego Museum of Art (San Diego, CA)
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA) (San Francisco, CA)
Sheffield Art Galleries G & Mappin (Sheffield, United Kingdom)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York City, NY)
Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (Loretto, PA)
Swope Art Museum (Terre Haute, IN)
The Brooklyn Museum of Art (Brooklyn, NY)
The Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio (Columbus, OH)
The Empire State Plaza Art Collection (Albany, NY)
The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art (Norman, OK)
The Grace Museum (Abilene, TX)
The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art (Sarasota, FL)
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, MO)
The University of Michigan Museum of Art (Ann Arbor, MI)
University of Saint Joseph Art Gallery (West Hartford, CT)
Wallrof Richartz Museum (Koln, Germany)
Whitney Museum of American Art (New York City, NY)
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