I continue to be a big fan of Paul’s and went to many of his shows over the years. His work is known to incorporate a mix of colors and painting styles to portray familiar home scenes and still lifes. He sometimes paints potted plants as grounds for abstraction referencing art history within a literal or implied grid system.

Having seen the expanse of Paul’s curiosity branch into ceramics then print, I saw now as the time to invite this collaboration. I left scale and color count open after our initial meeting when I gave him a full roll of acetate, tape, and little instruction besides paint it black.

In different phases, Paul turned the raw material into something organic and beautiful. A decorative vase and wildly colorful plant with a bursting floral arrangement. He started this while fighting a bad case of the flu between blizzards not long ago. A painting ecosystem was created by letting loose then cutting and repositioning shapes to a more broad, human scale

All inks were mixed using recycled and filtered colors from my library then tweaked after an initial proof and conversation. While there is a surprise and excitement found when control is shared, I was overjoyed to see new elements sprout and mature throughout this production

Paul Wackers was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1978. He received a BFA from Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, DC, and an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Paul Wackers works from personal experience, pulling from objects and places he sees, feels and keeps close. He makes objects and paintings to try to understand what they are, what they mean, and how he should understand them. Many of the subjects are things that seem very familiar but through the process of painting or sculpture become confused or unreal because of the associations created within. Paul lives and Works in Newburgh Ny in the Hudson Valley.

Paul Wackers