Paul P. (b. 1977, Canada) first gained attention for his drawings and paintings of young men that systematically re-imagined found erotic photographs along nineteenth century aesthetic modes. In recent years the artist’s interests in transience, desire, cataloging, and notation has expanded to include landscapes and their abstraction, and to sculptural works in the form of furniture. In his paintings and drawings, P. references images from the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives and gay erotic magazines produced around the time of the Stonewall riots until the advent of the AIDS crisis. His works appropriate these images and transform them into portraits that exceed stereotypical depictions of queerness, instead creating nuanced portraits and abstract landscapes that convey gestures of introspection, desire, and mourning. P.’s practice also includes sculptural furniture. His geometric, meticulous pieces explore relations between bodies, folding, framing, and manipulating barriers.
P. was included in the 2014 Whitney Biennial, New York and the 2018 Front International Cleveland Triennial. He has participated in numerous national and international exhibitions including Queer Thoughts, New York (2019); Lulu, Mexico City, Mexico (2019); Scrap Metal, Toronto (2017); Participant Inc., New York (2017); Griffin Art Projects, Vancouver (2017); Maureen Paley, Hove (2016); Broadway 1602, New York (2014); The Suburban, Oak Park (2013); Freud Museum, London (2011); Institut Valencia d’Art Modern, Valencia (2010); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2009); Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria (2009); and the Power Plant, Toronto (2007), among others. P.’s work is in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Modern Art New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Whitney Museum, among others. P. lives and works in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
CV
Paul P
Born 1977, Canada
Lives and works in Toronto, Canada
Selected Solo and Two Persons Exhibitions
2020
Gamboling Green, Cooper Cole, Toronto, Canada
Temple of Friendship, with G.B. Jones, Cooper Cole, Toronto, Canada
Centaurs on the Beach, Morena di Luna/Maureen Paley, Hove, UK
Kate Newby and Paul P., Michael Lett, Auckland, NZ (forthcoming)
2019
Slim Volume, Queer Thoughts, New York, USA
Arrière-pensée, Lulu, Mexico City, Mexico
The Independent, Cooper Cole, New York, USA
2018 The thin gate clanged, with B. Wurtz, Cooper Cole, Toronto, Canada
2017 Born Yesterday (with G.B. Jones), Participant, Inc., New York, USA
Civilization (inverted) (cur. Lee Plested), Griffin Art Projects, Vancouver, Canada
2016 The Rex Prisms, Morena di Luna with Maureen Paley, Hove, UK
2015 Civilization Coordinates (cur. Rui Amaral), Scrap Metal, Toronto, Canada
2014 The Homosexual Lovers Throughout the Ages Party, Broadway 1602, New
York, USA
2013 Escritoire Nancy, Andrew Roth, New York, USA
Doe Ye Nexte Thynge, The Suburban, Oak Park, USA
2012 Something Cloudy, Something Clear, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, Canada
The ‘X’Factor in Beholding, Tempo Rubato, Tel Aviv, Israel
2011 Dry Neptune, Massimo Minini, Brescia, Italy
Byzantine Feet, Blanket, Vancouver, Canada
A World of Love, Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles, USA
2010 Sherbert in Demascus, Daniel Reich Gallery, New York, USA
The Radiant Guest (with Scott Treleaven), The Fireplace Project, East Hampton, USA
2009 Three Parts Glass, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
2008 Venice, Venice, Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles, USA
Inclinations, Daniel Reich Gallery, New York, USA
When Ghost Meets Ghost, Maureen Paley, London, United Kingdom
2007 Par temps gris, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
Dusks, Lamplights (cur. Helena Rickett), The Power Plant, Toronto, Canada
Place Names, the Place, Daniel Reich Gallery, New York, USA
2006 Blue and Opal, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
The Yellow Room, Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles, USA
2005 A Grey Note, Gallery Side 2, Tokyo, Japan
Grey and Gold, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, ArtForum, Berlin, Germany
Les pas effaces, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
2004 In the Shadow of Young Girls in Bloom, Galerie Lisa Ruyter, Vienna, Austria
The Peacock Room, Angstrom Gallery, Dallas, USA
Blue Hydrangea, Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles, USA
2003 Last Flowers, Daniel Reich Gallery, New York, USA
2002 Pink Gothic, Solo Exhibition, Toronto, Canada
Group Exhibitions
2021 Of These Worlds, Remai Modern, Saskatoon, Canada (forthcoming)
2020 And there I lay down on the ground, Croy Nielsen, Vienna, Austria
2019 Portraits, Foxy Production, New York, USA
Expanded Painting, Massimo Minini, Brescia, Italy
Nurikabe, Tetsuo’s Garage, Nikko, Japan
They Gaze, James Fuentes, New York
The Suitcase Show, smac, Cape Town, Zanzibar
2018 Front International Cleveland Triennial (cur. Michelle Grabner), Cleveland, USA
Belonging to a Place, Canadian Embassy, Washington DC, USA
2017 Nature’s Way (cur. Lee Plested), Cooper Cole, Toronto, Canada
Belonging to a Place (cur. Nicolas Schafhausen), Scrap Metal, Toronto, Canada
Form and Volume, CF Hill Art Space, Stockholm, Sweden
Heartbreak Hotel, Invisible Exports, New York, USA
We are safe and all is well in the world (cur. Rui Amaral), Scrap Metal, Toronto, Canada
2016 In Wonderland, Tempo Rubato, New York, USA
2014 Verzweigt – Trees in Contemporary Art, Museum Sinclair Haus, Bad Homburg, Germany
Whitney Biennial (cur. Anthony Elms), Whitney Museum of Art, New York, USA
Tony Greene:, Iceberg Projects, Chicago, USA
2013 Quarrantanni Massimo Minini 1973-2013, Triennale di Milano, Milan,
Italy
Lesson in Anatomy, Tempo Rubato, Tel Aviv, Israel
Massimo Minini, Brescia, Italy
The Painting Project, Galerie de l’UQAM, Montreal, Canada
2012 Props for Memory, Invisible Exports, New York, USA
Synesthesia, M+B Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
aye – dunkelblau (cur. Susanne M. Winterling), Parrotta Contemporary Art, Sttugart, Germany
Fine Art Photography, 3A Gallery, New York, USA
2011 Invitation to the Voyage, Algus Greenspon Gallery, New York, USA
Les paris sont ouverts (cur. Caroline May), Freud Museum, London, United Kingdom
Compass: drawings from the MoMA (cur. C. Rattemeyer), Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany
2010 Compass in Hand (cur. C. Rattemeyer), Institut Valencia d’Art Modern, Valencia, Spain
Art on Paper 2010 (cur. Xandra Eden), Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, USA
Male (cur. Vince Aletti), Maureen Paley, London, United Kingdom
Holes, Daniel Reich Gallery, New York, USA
Boy, oh Boy!, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Miami, USA
2009 Compass in Hand (cur. Christian Rattemeyer), MoMA, New York, USA
Fixstern: 100 Jahre Kunst auf Papier, Landesmuseen, Schloss Gottdorf, Schleswig, Germany
Naked!, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, USA
2008 The Boys of Summer, The Fireplace Project, East Hampton, USA
Male, White Columns (cur. Vince Aletti), New York, USA / Presentation House, Vancouver, Canada
2007 People Take Pictures of Each Other (cur. Bob Nickas), LaMontagne Gallery, Boston, USA
Sweet Bird of Youth (cur. Hedi Slimane), Arndt& Partner, Berlin, Germany
Some Kind of Portrait, Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles, USA
Crack the Sky (cur. Wayne Baerwaldt), Biennale de Montreal, Montreal, Canada
Painting as Fact – Fact as Fiction (cur. Bob Nickas), de Pury and Luxembourg, Zurich, Switzerland
2006 People, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina, Naples, Italy
I Love My Scene (cur. Jose Friere), Mary Boone Gallery, New York, USA
Image Is Gone, Galerie Lisa Ruyter, Vienna, Austria
2005 This Hard, Gem-Like Flame (cur. Joseph Wolin), Angstrom Gallery, Dallas, USA
La beaute de l’enfer, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Belgium
2004 Origins of Harold, Deitch Projects, New York, USA
Heavenly Creatures, Galerie Thaddeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria
Happy Times Are Here Again, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, USA
Rimbaud, I-20 Gallery, New York, USA
She’s Come Undone, Artemis Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, New York, USA
Colored Pencil, KS Art, New York, USA
Republic of Love (cur. Xandra Eden), The Power Plant, Toronto, Canada
It’s About Memory, Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago, USA
Now is a Good Time, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, USA
2003 My People were Fair… (cur. Bob Nickas), Team Gallery, New York, USA
Teenage Rebel, Galerie du jour agnes b, Paris, France
Today’s Man, John Connelly Presents, New York, USA / Hiromi Yoshii Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Now Playing, D’Amelio Terras Gallery, New York, USA
Karaoke Death Machine, Daniel Reich Gallery, New York, USA
2002 Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, USA
2001 Wall Art, Other Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada
Residencies
2016 Fogo Island Arts, Fogo Island, Canada
2015 Cove Park International Visual Arts Residency, Cove Park, Scotland
2005 Art Production Fund Fondation Claude Monet, Giverny, France
Selected Bibliography
2020 Coleman, Charity. “Paul P., Queer Thoughts” ArtForum
Capada, Gaby. “Paul P.’s Ghostly Portraits Link Vintage Porn to Art Historical Tradition” Art In America
Gavin, Francesca. “Paul P., The Artist Making Dreamy Paintings from Vintage Gay Erotica” AnOther Magazine
2019 Turgeon, Alex. “Paul P.” Canadian Art Magazine
2018 Grabner, Michelle, Ed. “Front International: Cleveland Triennial for Contempoary Art, Front/Cleveland Museum of Art
2017 Gavin, Francesca, Form and Volume, CFHill Art Space, Stockholm
2016 Clarke, Bill, “Civilization Coordinates”, Modern Painters, April.
2015 Northcross, Wayne, “How Customized Furniture…”, New York Observer, Oct. 22
2014 Hoffmann, Jens, “United States of Biennials”, Texte zur Kunst, Sept.
Fuchs, Ina, Vergzweigt: Baume in der Zeitgenossischen Kunst, Museum Sinclair-Haus/Wienard
Morris, Matt, “Critics’ Pick: Tony Greene:”, Artforum.com, April 20.
Russeth, Andrew, “OnView: Paul P.: The Homosexual Lovers Throughout the Ages Party” New York Observer, April 9
Wolin, Joseph, “Paul P. The Homosexual Lovers Throughout the Ages Party”, Time Out New York, April 2
Halle, Howard, “Five Must-See Works at the Whitney Biennial”, Time Out New York, Mar 13
Comer, Elms, Grabner, Whitney Biennial 2014, Whitney Museum/Yale
Gopnik, Blake, Chose the Artists, Ignore the Critics, New York Times, Feb 16
2013 Bozzini, Didi, Roger Ballen, Ryan Medoza, Paul P., Galleria Massimo Minini
Belisele, Dery et al. The Painting Project/Le Projet Peinture, Galerie de l’UQAM
“Venice Surfers”, Paris, LA, #9
2012 “The best designed, most inviting blank space”w/ Dennis Cooper, Richardson, A6
Mizrahi, Liav, “The ‘X’ Factor in Beholding”, Haaretz, April 11
2011 Wolin, Joseph R., “Gilded Age”, Canadian Art, summer
Schmerler, Sarah, “Paul P.”, Art in America, Mar.
2010 Stephenson, Sarah, “Paul P.’s New Body”, Art in America, online, Oct 29
Minini, Massimo, “Ma Cosa Succede la Fuori”, Flash Art Italiana, August
“Unison – Paul P. and Cedric Rivrain in conversation”, Paris, LA, summer
Boukobza, Julie, “Y a-t-il une vie d’artistes a Paris?”, Double, spring/summer
Lewis, David, ed., Blake Book, Lubok Verlag
2009 Bollen, Christopher, “ Rated Art”, Interview Magazine, Dec.
Rattemeyer, Christian, Compass in Hand; Selections from the Judith Rothschild Foundation, MoMA.
Flosdorff, Caroline, Fixstern: 100 Jahre Kunst auf Papier, Weinard Verlag
Hall, Emily, “Paul P. Inclinations”, Artforum, Mar.
Wolin, Joseph, “Paul P. Inclinations”, Time Out New York, Jan 22
Johnson, Ken, “Paul P. Inclinations”, New York Times, Jan 8
The New Yorker, Ed., Goings On, “Paul P.”, Jan. 5
Miles, Christopher, “Paul P. at Marc Selwyn Fine Art”, LA Weekly, Jan. 1
2008 Pagel, David, “Paul P. at Marc Selwyn Fine Art”, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 18
van Bennekom, Jop, “Paul P.”, Butt, Winter
Aletti, Vince, MALE: from the collection of Vince Aletti, PPP Editions
Zhong, Fan, “Paul P. Show”, Interview, Nov.
Velasco, David, “Paul P.”, Museo, No. 9
2007 Reckitt, Helena, “Voices- Paul P.”, NYArts, Nov./Dec.
Clarke, Bill, “Paul P.”, Canadian Art, Winter
Hanley, William, “Review: Place Names, the Place”, Artnews, Oct.
Krishtalka, Sholem, “Decadent, Decaying Romance”, Xtra!, Sep. 13
McGinley, Ryan, “High Art”, The Advocate, August 14
Baerwaldt, Wayne, “Crack the Sky’, 5th Biennale de Montreal / Public35
Fraser-Cavassoni, Natasha, “Paul P.: Studio View” Interview, May
2006 Dos Santos, Marcelo, “The Line of Beauty”, Attitude, March
Melendez, Franklin, “The Avant Marriage of Fashion and Art”, SOMA, Mar.
Cobb, Michael, “In the Shadow of Young Girls in Bloom”, They Shoot Homos..,#2
2005 Bollen, Christopher, “Headshots”, VMan, spring/summer
Ryan, Julie, “Paul P. in Vienna”, C Magazine, spring
Maculan, Lena, “Junge Kunst aus Kanada: die Portrats von Paul P.” Parnass, Mar.
Cucco, Susanna, “Coups de Coeur”, L’Officiel Hommes, spring/summer
2004 Uovo Drawings 2004, Uovo, #9, Dec.
Aigner, Claudia, “Suchtig nach dem Ruckwartsgang”, Weiner Zeitung, Dec. 17
Garulli, Lavinia, et al., “Mixed Paint”, Flash Art, Nov.
Ribas, Joao, “She’s Come Undone”, Time Out New York, Jul.1
Martin, Merritt, “Jack Pierson and Paul P.”, Dallas Observer, Jun. 17
Sworn, Corin, “Republic of Love”, Canadian Art, Summer
Hellman, Michel, “Eros et Thanatos”, Le Devoir, Montreal, Mar. 28
Eden, Xandra, “Republic of Love”, Power Plant, Toronto, Spring
2003 New Yorker, Ed., Goings On, “My People were fair…”, Nov. 17
New Yorker, Ed., Goings On, “Now Playing”, Aug. 4
Cotter, Holland, “Paul P.”, New York Times, Jul. 18
Rimanelli, David, “Entries”, Artforum, Summer
2002 Hackett, Sophie. “Beautiful Politics”, Xtra!, Apr. 4
Publications
2012 Last Flowers, Invisible Exports/Downtown Arts, 2012, text by Daniel Reich
2011 The Radiant Guest (Paul P. and Scott Treleaven), Publication Studios,
Toronto
2010 The Pink Book, Daniel Reich Gallery, text by Harold Montague
2009 Venice, Venice, Marc Selwyn Fine Art
2008 Paul P. When Ghost Meets Ghost/Peter Hujar, Maureen Paley, text by Vince Aletti
2007 Blue and Silver, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, text by Francois Jonquet
Nonchaloir, Powerhouse books, text by Collier Schorr
Places Names, the Place, Daniel Reich Gallery, text by David Velasco
2006 The Yellow Room, Marc Selwyn Fine Art, text by Vince Aletti
2005 Grey and Gold, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, text by Michel Bulteau
Public Collections
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco
The Francis Young Tang Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY
The Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, MA
Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, USA
- G.B. Jones and Paul P. Featured on Contemporary Art Daily
- Paul P. Featured on Art Viewer
- Paul P. and G.B. Jones | Tough Stuff
- G.B. Jones and Paul P. Featured on Contemporary Art Daily
- Paul P. Featured on Flash Art
- Paul P. Featured in Another Magazine
News
- Temple of Friendship
- Gamboling Green
- The thin gate clanged
- Nature’s Way