Biography from Jerald Melberg Gallery:
| A contemporary of American artists living in Paris in the 1950s, Paul
Jenkins did work that represents the inventive spirit and energy of
post-World War II abstraction. Greatly influenced by Jackson
Pollack and Mark Rothko, Jenkins is famous for his inventive method of
pouring paint directly onto the canvas, as well as for pure, prismatic
color. He often uses an ivory knife or a brush for finishing, but never
allows a stroke to show.
The work of Paul Jenkins is in the collections of the Museum of Modern
Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Gallery in
Washington, D.C., the Tate Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum
in London, among many others.
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Biography from Butler Institute of American Art:
| The paintings of Paul Jenkins have come to represent the spirit,
vitality, and invention of post World War II American
abstraction. Employing an unorthodox approach to paint
application, Jenkins' fame is as much identified with the process of
controlled paint-pouring and canvas manipulation as with the gem-like
veils of transparent and translucent color, which have characterized
his work since the late 1950s.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1923, Jenkins was raised near
Youngstown, Ohio. Drawn to New York, he became a student of Yasuo
Kuniyoshi at the Art Students League and ultimately became associated
with the Abstract Expressionists, inspired in part by the "cataclysmic
challenge of Pollock and the total metaphysical consumption of Mark
Tobey."
An ongoing interest in Eastern religions and philosophy, the study of
the I Ching, along with the writings of Carl Jung prompted Jenkins'
turn toward inward reflection and mysticism which have dominated his
aesthetic as well as his life.
Source:
Dr. Louis A. Zona, Director
The Butler Institute of American Art
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Biography from AskART:
| 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.
Source:
Michael David Zellman, "300 Years of American Art"
Matthew Baigell, "Dictionary of American Art"
Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"
Marika Herskovic, "American Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s: An Illustrated Survey" |
| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
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Paul Jenkins is also mentioned in these AskART essays:
Abstract Expressionism
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