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Artist Statement:
My work is an exploration of
sexuality and identity through
narrative painting. I draw
inspiration from my own
experiences as a young gay man
from a conservative
environment to break down the
social constructs that exist
around sexual orientation and
gender roles. Through
colorful, illustrative, and
sometimes humorous paintings,
I expose the grey areas that
become overshadowed by black
and white moral codes. By
employing the visual
communication techniques of
graphic design and
illustration, my work is bold
yet inviting with apparent,
underlying themes. It invites
viewers of all origins to make
personal connections with the
imagery that I’ve employed to
tell my story and encourages
them to question conventional
ideas that disregard the value
of their individuality.
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Artist Exhibitions:
Forthcoming Exhibitions (*Solo
Shows)
2009 Hot & Bothered: Sexuality
Post-Feminism, Veaux Gallery,
Chelsea, New York. Curated by
Savannah Spirit and Karyn Jane
Hunt. Invitational.
2009 *Gay Day at Paulyworld,
Center on Halsted Gallery,
Chicago, Illinois. Curated by
David Joseph.
2009 Stripped Uncensored, LGBT
Community Center, New York
City. Curated by ...
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Artist Galleries:
Gallery Arcane, San Francisco,
CA
2nd City Council Gallery, Long
Beach, CA
World of Wonder Gallery,
Hollywood, CA
A Bitchin' Space Gallery,
Sacramento, CA
BoMA: The Bar of Modern Art,
Columbus, OH
Ohio Art League Gallery,
Columbus, OH
Neo V Gallery, Columbus, OH
Legend Gallery, The Armory,
Zanesville, OH
Art ...
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Collections:
Steven Cojocaru, Fashion
Critic, Entertainment Tonight.
Java Kitrik, Director, Puffin
Foundation, Ltd.
Mary Chapin Carpenter,
Recording Artist.
Bryan Knicely, Director of the
Greater Columbus Arts Council.
Sean Cooper, Director of the
Ohio Art League.
Savannah Spirit, Director and
CEO, Veaux.
Andrew Towle, Blogger,
Towleroad.
Susan Stafford, Television
Personality.
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Commissions:
Select Client List
•American Greetings,
Cleveland, Ohio
•Center for Child and Family
Advocacy, Columbus, Ohio
•Hartman Building, Columbus,
Ohio
•Hawk Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
•COSI, Columbus, Ohio
•Trisha Yearwood, Inc.,
Nashville, TN
•Mansfield/Richland Public
Libraries, Inc., Mansfield,
Ohio
•Seedling Publications, Inc.,
Columbus, Ohio
•Dr. Rogers Family Practice,
Dublin, Ohio
...
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Reviews for Paul Richmond:
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ARTIST PAUL RICHMOND OPENS THE FLOOD GATES ON KEN STARR
Outinamerica.com
Most of Paul Richmond's artwork is pretty gay. However, his new painting "Noah's Gay Wedding Cruise" was recently dubbed "The Gayest Painting of Our Time" by towleroad.com.
In it, Richmond interprets the biblical flood story in a new way - one where the pool of drowning sinners includes the likes of Ken Starr, Sally Kern, and Fred Phelps, while the ark/cruise ship takes same-sex couples to safety. View the painting here: www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21465325.
"Noah's Gay Wedding Cruise" is on display at Gallery Arcane in San Francisco in the exhibit "Sweet & Low: Optimism in a Pessimistic Age" which opens March 5 (the same day Ken Starr will address the Supreme Court about nullifying the unions of gay and lesbian couples in California). The theme of the exhibit combined with the nationwide pro-marriage movement led Richmond to develop the concept for the piece. "The recent passage of Proposition 8 and the subsequent efforts of Ken Starr to break apart marriages in the name of family values certainly inspire pessimism," he explains. "However, I've been so incredibly moved by demonstrations across the country in support of marriage equality, and I believe we're on the cusp of great progress."
That sense of optimism certainly comes through in "Noah's Gay Wedding Cruise." Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are on-board, as are Jack and Ennis from Brokeback Mountain, Elton John and David Furnish, and Rosie O'Donnell and Kelli Carpenter, not to mention giraffes and flamingos in top hats, and some love-struck elephants. The unlikely group drifts toward an opening in the clouds where a bright rainbow emerges, one that, according to the artist, reminds "hopeful voyagers that full legal recognition and acknowledgement of same-sex love are just over the horizon."
Of course, not everyone in the gay community sees the painting or the issue in this light. Some of the buzz generated by the piece online accuses it of going too far, with accusations that it is "distasteful," or representative of the LGBT community's "great strategic mistake" of alienating moderate opponents. Richmond sees it differently. "I can't stand behind accepting a lesser version of marriage. It would be like going back in time and telling women who were fighting for the right to vote, 'Oh, sorry. There are just too many people who would be upset by this. Besides, men should be in charge. It says so in the Bible. How about you express your political ideas in another way - maybe make some pretty banners for your favorite politician?'"
Despite its critics, others have responded more favorably to Richmond's contribution to the marriage debate, including one commenter who went so far as to suggest that it is "the single most important piece of gay art produced in the last sixty years."
"I'm just thrilled to see it has sparked some interesting discussion," Richmond notes. "What more could an artist hope for?"
Paul Richmond's paintings have been displayed at venues including the World of Wonder Gallery, A Bitchin' Space, 2nd City Gallery, BoMA: The Bar of Modern Art, and the Columbus Museum of Art. Utilizing a multitude of artistic methodologies, his work explores themes of personal narrative and social commentary, sometimes addressing unique experiences of the GLBTQ community or self-realization and empowerment at large. See more of his work online at www.paulrichmondstudio.com, and order giclee prints and other merchandise from his online shop at www.paulypants.etsy.com.
"Sweet & Low: Optimism in a Pessimistic Age" opens on Thursday, March 5 from 6-9 pm at Gallery Arcane, located at 575 Sutter Street in San Francisco. Visit www.galleryarcane.com for more details.
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Dollypop
By: Coury Turczyn
Paul Richmond’s “The Dollypop Guild” is perhaps the biggest attention-getter at the show. In vibrant Technicolor hues, it portrays Dolly as Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz, encapsulated in a pink sphere of magic as she wields her sparkling wand. In the distance, a sign for Dollywood points down the yellow brick road, promising sanctuary. Standing in ruby slippers is the artist himself as a young boy, watching the delightful spectacle.
“In a campy, over-the-top way, this piece represents the magic and inspiration I found in Dolly during a difficult time in my life, a time during which I felt incredibly alone,” writes Richmond in an e-mail. “The amazing and somewhat poignant outcome of the DollyPOP exhibit is that I’ve met many others who connect with the painting, having walked that same yellow brick road themselves.”
Richmond, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, says he found inspiration in Dolly as he grew up “as a little repressed gay boy in the Midwest.” He often incorporates his own personal narratives in his work, reflecting his journey to self-acceptance—and Dolly provided help along the way.
“After watching The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas as a child, I decided I wanted to grow up and be like Dolly,” Richmond writes. “This wasn’t exactly an acceptable aspiration in my hometown, but I was drawn to the flamboyant entertainer because of her over-the-top persona and seemingly abundant self-confidence. Throughout my life I struggled with my desire to fit in, all the while knowing that I was very different from my peers. I saw in Dolly a kindred spirit, someone who chose an offbeat path and made it work.”
When it came time for his Dolly tribute, Richmond had found his perfect muse, and the result is a dazzling meeting of artist and subject: bold, colorful, playful. But this wasn’t the first time he had devoted a piece to Dolly.
“I had the pleasure of meeting her as a child and presenting her with a drawing that I had labored over for months,” Richmond writes. “She was incredibly sweet and the experience was a milestone of my young adult life, helping me learn that I could set goals and make them come true. When I found out about the DollyPOP show, I knew I wanted to try and portray that experience and the inspiration I found in her at such a young age.”
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A Portrait of the Artist as a Gay Man
When Paul Richmond first came out, he decided to keep it to himself, artistically speaking. He’s since changed his mind, and he’s glad he did.
By Richard Ades
Published: Thursday, August 21, 2008 7:38 AM EDT
In one of his latest paintings, Paul Richmond puts his own spin on a scene from The Wizard of Oz.
In it, Dorothy is replaced by a young boy who represents Richmond as a child. Incongruously sporting red stilettos rather than ruby slippers, the boy watches as Glinda the Good Witch of the North—who looks amazingly like country diva Dolly Parton—descends in a pink bubble.
The painting is Richmond’s latest attempt to come to terms with his own coming out. It’s a theme he once avoided in his art, though it’s now become his prime focus.
And little wonder: Not only has it opened up new sources of inspiration, but it’s led to successes including gallery exhibitions, greeting-card sales and the chance to rub elbows with celebrities.
Not bad for someone whose sexuality remained nebulous through his school-age years, which concluded with a degree from the Columbus College of Art & Design.
“I didn’t come out of the closet, even, until after graduating,” said Richmond, now 28.
After acknowledging to himself and the world that he was gay, Richmond soon began creating paintings that reflected his new reality. But even then, he said, the paintings remained as closeted as he once was.
“I was really just doing them more as a form of art therapy and trying to deal with what I was going through myself,” Richmond said. “I really didn’t think that they would be something people would necessarily be interested in.”
The paintings might have stayed in the closet if they hadn’t been discovered by a childhood friend, fellow artist Melissa Forman.
“She was actually the first person I came out to,” Richmond said.
Forman said she pushed him to show his new works not only for his sake, but for the world’s sake.
“I felt like his message was one that other people needed to hear,” Forman, now a Cleveland resident, said in an e-mail. “Not just those who were going through the same things he was going through, but people who don’t understand homosexuality and all of the struggle that goes along with it.”
At Forman’s urging, Richmond submitted the works to a juried exhibition sponsored by the Ohio Art League, which accepted them. Then, in March 2007, he opened his first solo show, appropriately titled “Ins and Outs,” at the same gallery.
Since then, Richmond has exhibited in other venues, including Stonewall Columbus’s annual “An Exhibit of Pride.” On a less serious note, he’s also expanded his artistic repertoire to include what he calls “Cheesecake Boys,” a collection of buff men caught in compromising—that is, partially undressed—poses.
“I just thought it would be fun to do a take on the pinup girls from the ’40s, with the really contrived scenarios,” he said, noting that the provocative images have been licensed for use on greeting cards.
But perhaps his greatest thrill as an artist came when he got to attend a memorial service for the late Tammy Faye Messner, whom he counts, along with Dolly Parton, among his “diva inspirations.” The honor stemmed from a portrait he’d painted of the former televangelist and exhibited at a 2007 memorial celebration during which Messner was portrayed by a heavily made-up drag queen.
“Afterward, I posted it on my website, and the real Tammy Faye’s manager saw it and invited me and my partner to come out to her real memorial celebration at his home in Palm Springs,” Richmond said.
“We found ourselves in a room with (porn star) Ron Jeremy and Larry King, and we were just kind of like, ‘How did this happen?’”
Though Richmond’s professional coming out has been a success both artistically and financially, one fact keeps it from being even more successful. Despite Columbus’s reputation as gay-friendly, Richmond said there are no local galleries that specialize in gay art.
“There should be,” he said.
However, he’s managed to find customers by promoting his art on his website, paulrichmondstudio.com. It was thanks to this online marketplace that a Puerto Rican writer found a Richmond image he wanted to use on the cover of his new novel.
Next month, Richmond also will begin exhibiting at two art outlets in California, including the campy World of Wonder Gallery in Hollywood. He’s working to finish his Wizard of Oz-inspired painting, tentatively titled The Dollypop Guild, for the WOW show.
Demonstrating that he doesn’t restrict himself to gay-oriented material, Richmond will exhibit an image promoting animal rights at the other show, the second annual “Circus Show & Other Atrocities” exhibit at A Bitchin’ Space Gallery in Sacramento.
Richmond said he wants to create work that appeals to all art lovers, but he also has no qualms about being categorized by his sexual orientation.
“Some people really try to avoid being labeled as a gay artist or marketing themselves that way,” he said. “Myself, I’m really fine with that.”
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