Paul Jenkis American, 12/07/1923-9/06/2012

Paul Jenkins was a major figure of post-war American abstraction, closely associated with Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he settled in Paris in the early 1950s, where he developed a distinctive artistic language that bridged American spontaneity with European refinement.

Jenkins is best known for his luminous, fluid compositions, created through a highly personal technique of pouring and guiding paint directly onto the canvas. Rejecting traditional brushwork, he used gravity, controlled movement, and tools such as an ivory knife to orchestrate the flow of color, resulting in works that evoke natural phenomena—light, water, atmosphere—while remaining resolutely abstract.

Deeply influenced by Eastern philosophy, particularly Zen Buddhism, Jenkins approached painting as a meditative and intuitive process. His works often bear poetic titles beginning with “Phenomena,” underscoring his interest in perception, transformation, and the ephemeral nature of experience.

Throughout his career, Jenkins exhibited internationally and was included in major museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Centre Pompidou. His work was also the subject of numerous institutional exhibitions, notably at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Today, Paul Jenkins is recognized as a singular voice within post-war abstraction, whose work continues to resonate for its balance between control and chance, gesture and contemplation.