Paul Jenkins was an American artist associated with the Abstracts Expressionists, as he befriended many of its headliners such as Jean Dubuffet, Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Jenkin’s paintings come to represent the spirit, vitality, and invention of post World War II American abstraction. Employing an unorthodox approach to paint application, Jenkins’ fame is as much identified with the process of controlled paint-pouring and canvas manipulation as with the gem-like veils of transparent and translucent color which have characterized his work since the late 1950s. An ongoing interest in Eastern religions and philosophy, the study of the I Ching, along with the writings of Carl Jung prompted Jenkins’ turn toward inward reflection and mysticism which have dominated his aesthetic as well as his life.
Paul Jenkins continued to paint up until his death in 2012, at the age of 88. His works are held in notorious public collections such as the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., The Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, among others.
