Kevin Paulsen – A Splendid Vision
K E N I S E B A R N E S F I N E A R T 1947 Palmer Avenue Larchmont, NY 10538 www.kbfa.com
K E N I S E B A R N E S F I N E A R T W A S F O U N D E D I N 1 9 9 4 O N T H E B E L I E F T H A T A R T I S E S S E N T I A L W E A R E A G A L L E R Y A N D C O N S U L T I N G F I R M T H A T R E P R E S E N T S E M E R G I N G A N D M I D -‐ C A R E E R I N V E S T M E N T -‐ Q U A L I T Y A R T I S T S . O U R P R O G R A M I N C L U D E S O V E R T H I R T Y A R T I S T S W O R K I N G I N A V A R I E T Y O F M E D I U M S . T H E G A L L E R Y M O U N T S S E V E N E X H I B I T I O N S A N N U A L L Y , A N D P A R T I C I P A T E S I N A R T F A I R S I N M I A M I , S A N T A F E A N D N E W Y O R K . K E N I S E B A R N E S F I N E A R T I S A N E X P E R I E N C E D C O N S U L T I N G F I R M . W E H A V E A S S E M B L E D C O L L E C T I O N S F O R A N D A D V I S E D C O L L E C T O R S I N R E S I D E N T I A L , C O R P O R A T E A N D H O S P I T A L I T Y S E T T I N G S . W E R E G U L A R I L Y C O L L A B O R A T E W I T H D E S I G N E R S A N D A R C H I T E C T S T O F I N D A R T F O R T H E I R P R O J E C T S . O U R C L I E N T L I S T I N C L U D E S N E W Y O R K U N I V E R S I T Y L A N G O N E M E D I C A L C E N T E R , B A N K O F A M E R I C A A R T P R O G R A M , P F I Z E R C O R P O R A T I O N , C I T I B A N K A R T A D V I S O R Y , V I C E N T E W O L F A S S O C I A T E S , A N D N U M E R O U S M U S E U M S A N D P R I V A T E C O L L E C T O R S . P L E A S E D I R E C T I N Q U I R I E S T O : K E N I S E B A R N E S , D I R E C T O R K E N I S E @ K B F A . C O M L A N I H O L L O W A Y , G A L L E R Y M A N A G E R L A N I @ K B F A . C O M 1947 PALMER AVENUE, LARCHMONT, NEW YORK 10538 914 834 8077 WWW.KBFA.COM
“Paulsen’s art is all about gentle decay – distressed, faded, sob: another America where dramacc natural landscapes are juxtaposed with industrial architecture, glorified first in the 1800s and again now.” -‐ Carol Newman “The Muralist’s Muses.” World of Interiors Magazine. October 2010
Dates: November 8 – December 23, 2014 November 8 – December 23, 2014
Kevin Paulsen – A Splendid Vision: new paintings and drawings Kenise Barnes Fine Art is delighted to announce Kevin Paulsen’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. Paulsen, an American artist born in Missouri, has a devoted international following and an extensive exhibition history. He has distinguished himself as an artist whose vision is paradoxically naïve looking yet deeply informed by art history and well established in the canon of contemporary art. Paulsen’s artwork is singular in the narrative it presents. He portrays civilization, half mythical, half historical, depicting nature and man in primordial and sometimes precarious harmony. The artist conjures a utopia in which man and beast frolic, harvest, dance, and work, in blissful co-existence. The viewer senses that the balance of the theatrical scene is momentary and could be upended by dark forces. Paulsen’s paintings and drawings are direct and earnest; we feel his urgency to capture the subject and record it before his fantastical vision dances away. The artist as shamanistic puppeteer is felt strongly in each narrative he creates. Stylistically, Paulsen’s painting evokes vernacular style that recalls the tradition of Early American folk muralists and pays homage to man’s predilection for storytelling, illustration and decoration. Paulsen’s paintings appear to be made as a fresco, with uneven edges, (actually polystyrene topped with a thin veneer of pigmented plaster) floating within the frame. Cracks and fissures and areas of intentional distress are intrinsic to the surface and introduce a quality of unpredictability and allude to the passage of time.
Kevin Paulsen
David Findlay Gallery, New York, NY
Exhibitions (Selected)
2006 Gore Dean, Washington, DC
2014 Kevin Paulsen, Splendid Vision, Nov. – Dec., Kenise Barnes Fine Art, Larchmont, NY Process/Two Artist/Kevin Paulsen and Joe Concra, Jun – July, Gráficas, Nantucket, MA Bergdorf Goodman, 7th floor, May - August, New York, NY 2012 Nantucket House Antiques and Interior Design, Nantucket, MA 2011 Bergdorf Goodman 7th floor and windows along 5th Ave, New York, NY Gráficas, Nantucket, MA Nantucket House Antiques and Interior Design, Nantucket, MA 2010 Kevin Paulsen, Alternative Poetry, Sept., Kelley Roy Gallery, Miami FL 2010 Nantucket House Antiques and Interior Design, Nantucket, MA
2005 David Findlay Jr. Gallery, New York, NY L&E Reid Fine Art and Antiques, New Preston, CT 2004 Wetmore & Buchheit Land and Estate Brokers, Woodstock, VT L&E, Nantucket, MA 2003 Wright Gallery, Kingston, NY L&E, Nantucket, MA David Findlay Gallery, New York, NY 2002 Deconstructing the Theorem (Drawings), July, Wright Gallery, Kingston, NY Looms Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2009 Summer Exhibition, August–Sept., Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, VT Nantucket House Antiques and Interior Design, Nantucket, MA Nathan Turner Interior Design, Los Angeles, CA.
2001 Wayne Pratt Inc., South Woodbury, CT
2008 Kevin Paulsen, Kelley Roy Gallery, Miami, FL Nantucket House Antiques and Interior Design, Nantucket, MA Nathan Turner, Los Angeles, CA Tyler Taylor Fine Art, New Canaan, CT
1999 Woodard & Greenstein, New York, NY
2007 Bergdorf Goodman, New York, NY
1997 William Rowe Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2000 New Canaan Society of the Arts, New Canaan, CT
1998 William Rowe Gallery, Nantucket, MA
Collections and Commissions (selected)
William Rowe Gallery, Nantucket, MA Collections and Commissions (selected)
Bergdorf Goodman, New York, NY Willow Creek Farm, Broadlands, VA Blue Smoke Restaurant, New York, NY American Seasons Restaurant, Nantucket, MA Moona Restaurant, Nantucket, MA Over 80 Private Collections in the U.S. Canada, England, France, Germany and India Bibliography (selected) 2011 Scribble08 by Mark Murphy 2010 World Of Interiors, December 2010 2007 Chronogram, February (Cover) 2006 House Beautiful Traditional Home, November New York Home, September/October
1999 New York Times Currents, February 23 1998 Architectural Digest, September Featured in the books: At Home in Nantucket by Lisa McGee with photographs by Paul Whicheloe Living Color by Gary Mcbournie
2005 Traditional Home, December 2003 Northeast Journal Arts and Antiques, August Nantucket Home, June Nantucket Today, November/December 2001 Traditional Home, March 2000 Classic American Homes, April//May
Un4tled (Outskirts) 14, 2014, charcoal and chalk on paper 42 x 19 inches (framed), $3,500
Babel Launch, 2014 acrylic and plaster on polystyrene 46 x 70 inches 48 x 72 inches (framed) $14,000
Bona Dea 3, 2014 acrylic and plaster mounted on board 37.5 x 56 inches 38.75 x 56.5 inches (framed) $11,000
Harves4ng Pearls, 2014, acrylic and plaster on linen mounted on panel, 48 x 60 inches $11,000
The Last Bas4on 3 (Twilight), 2014 plaster and acrylic on comon velvet mounted on panel 53.5 x 72 inches $14,000
Christened Listener 2, 2014 acrylic and plaster on polystyrene mounted in box frame 45 x 45 inches (unframed) (var.) 48 x 48 inches (framed) $11,000
Last Bas4on 1 (Solar Eclipse) (Encampment, abandoned viewing plaOorm), 2014 50.75 x 74 inches acrylic and plaster on velour, mounted on panel $15,000
Un4tled (Clay Pipe), 2014 acrylic and plaster on polystyrene 14 x 39.5 inches $4,500
Blue Boots (Red Hair, Blue Shoek), 2013 acrylic and plaster on red polyester mounted on panel 41 x 36 inches $8,000
Last Bas4on 4 (Outskirts), 2014 55 x 64 inches acrylic and plaster on velour, mounted on panel $14,000
Outskirts (Corvid and Queen), 2014 acrylic and plaster on polyester mounted on panel 36 x 60 inches $11,000
Outskirts (Surrender) (Abandoned Viewing PlaOorm), 2014 acrylic and plaster on theatre velvet mounted on panel 48 x 72 inches $14,000
Un4tled (Outskirts) 7, 2014 charcoal and chalk on paper 24 x 18 inches (framed) $1,800
Un4tled (Outskirts) 1, 2014 charcoal and chalk on paper 24 x 18 inches (framed) $1,800
Leb: Un4tled (Outskirts) 6, 2014 charcoal and chalk on paper 18 x 24 inches (framed) $1,800
Right: Un4tled (Outskirts) 13, 2014 charcoal and chalk on paper 18 x 24 inches (framed) $1,900
Below: Un4tled (Outskirts) 7B, 2014 charcoal and chalk on paper 18 x 24 inches (framed) $1,800
Above: Un4tled (Outskirts) 10, 2014 charcoal and chalk on paper 24 x 18 inches (framed) $1,800
“Paulsen’s adaptacons of the 19th-‐century pamerned wall treatments are gutsy and bold, nothing like the polite imitacons done by others today.” -‐ Carol Newman “The Muralist’s Muses.” World of Interiors Magazine. October 2010