Past Exhibitions
Paul King: Free Fall
June 5 – July 28, 2012
This summer, the Martin Art Gallery proudly presents Free Fall, a showcase of new and recent oil paintings by Philadelphia-based artist Paul King.
Over a period of years, King’s work has been naturally evolving from representation towards abstraction. In the booklet that accompanies the exhibition, William R. Valerios, Director of the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia, writes about the painterly path King embarked on as a product of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts—“a path of the figurative arts that gave him a strong backbone of historic reference and a tradition of making paintings as well-crafted objects that tell good stories”.
Currently, King’s paintings show the result of his on-going journey and exploration—energetic gestures and potent colors explode across the canvas in chunks, swaths, curves, and drips. He is a painter absorbed with, and passionate about, the material and the process. However, upon careful looking, figurative elements emerge and a narrative unfolds. Valerios writes, “King’s paintings require time and contemplation and the reward to the viewer is an unfolding drama.”
King’s transformational process parallels centuries of historical precedence. He states, “Once art was un-moored from its didactic religiosity and parochial novelty, it began its new tradition of expression of its very form… It is a common instinct, as the artist matures, to break down the constraints of established associations of meaning to form, always yearning towards a more encompassing language.”
King is represented by Seraphin Gallery in Philadelphia, where he most recently had a solo exhibition in 2011. He has been continuously exhibiting since receiving his MFA from Boston University in 1985, where he studied with James Weeks and Robert DiArista.
King has studied in the major art centers in Europe, won many awards and his work is included in numerous private and pubic collections. In 1983, he earned a four- year certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and previously a BFA from the Philadelphia College of Art. Currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of the Arts, King has also taught extensively at Moravian College and Swarthmore College. His award winning painting Waiting Woman was included in the book, Mothers, published by Running press in 1997. An overview of his work and blog can be seen at [email protected]
A reception for the artist will be held Saturday, June 9, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. in the Gallery. The reception and all Martin Art Gallery events and programs are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays, 12:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., additional hours by appointment. Closed Tuesday, July 3 and Wednesday, July 4.
All art images and content are the property of Martin Art Gallery, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA. Any reproduction or distribution of this material without the expressed, written consent of the Martin Art Gallery is prohibited and a violation of federal law. All rights reserved.
