Paul Jenkins

PAUL JENKINS (Kansas City, Missouri, 1923 - New York, 2012).
"Continental Divide," 1981.
Color lithograph on paper. Copy 85/150.
Presents dry stamp on the back.
Signed, dated and justified.
Measurements: 96,5 x 74,5 cm.
In 1981, year of realization of "Continental Divide", Jenkins had already consolidated his characteristic technique: controlled pours of acrylic paint on the canvas, manipulated by means of inclinations and tools like spatulas or blades, creating luminous and almost translucent flows of color. The title, which alludes to the continental divide, suggests a geographical and symbolic metaphor, in keeping with his interest in natural phenomena, light and energy.
A renowned abstract expressionist painter, Paul Jenkins studied with Yasuo Kuniyoshi at the Art Students League of New York (1948-1952) and met Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Barnett Newman. In 1954, after traveling to Italy, he moved to Paris, where he had his first solo exhibition at Studio Paul Facchetti. The following year, in 1955, Zoe Dusanne Gallery in Seattle presented his first solo exhibition in the United States; the Seattle Museum was the first museum to acquire his work. In 1959 he began titling his canvases "Phenomena," and gradually moved from oil and enamel to acrylic. During the 1960s, he traveled in Europe, Russia, India and Japan, where he worked with Yoshihara and the Gutai of Osaka. In 1983 he was appointed Commandeur des Arts et Lettres de la Republique de France. Considered one of the most important artists of the 20th century, his works are in the collections of the world's leading museums, including the Tate Gallery, London; the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Centre Georges Pompidou and the National Museum of Modern Art, Paris; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; and the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo.