The Artist |
Sanskriti Foundation, Delhi, India
American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore, MD
Paul Graubard was born in Elizabeth, N.J. in 1932 and grew up in Passaic, N.J., a mill town 15 miles from New York City and 50 years behind the times. He spent his early school years reading, doodling and playing hooky and dropped out in the 10th grade to hitchhike around the country. After taking a high school equivalency exam, he went to college, married and settled down in New York City to raise a family. He worked as a teacher, professor, and a psychologist, always finding work that gave him the autonomy he craved. His eldest daughter’s untimely death from cancer hit him hard, setting off a period of too much smoking and drinking. On a whim, and maybe out of desperation, he started to draw. Two years later he discovered painting, gave up his practice as a psychologist and has been working full time as a painter since then. He believes that stumbling on art saved his well-being if not his life. He now lives in Lenox, Mass with his wife Karen.
Romania, Romania, a Yiddish song extolling wine, women, song and food, was my Romanian-born father’s favorite. I heard it sung often as a child and loved its zest. When I paint and get lucky, that spirit overtakes me. Like dance and music, painting requires rhythm and flow, movement, action and tension. I work to make my paintings twirl and surprise.
There is a Chassidic belief that one can thank the Lord for the gift of life and its bounties by singing, dancing and engaging in joyful creation. This philosophy is a guiding force behind my paintings. My work comes out of a need to celebrate life. This in turn is inspired by my experience of marriage, the Sabbath and Festivals. The spirit is universal.
Childhood memories and fantasies often underlie my paintings. As a child I was enchanted by folk and fairy tales. As a teacher of young children I used this material extensively. Now, as a painter I often work with folk themes be they from the Bible or stories like Paul Bunyan.
On a trip to India I encountered carnival scenes in which the array of color was extraordinary. Since then, color has taken on new dimensions for me and has led to new explorations -- a process that will likely last a lifetime.
Galerie Bonheur
10046 Conway Road
St. Louis, MO 63124
314.993.9851
New Hope Sidetracks Art Gallery
2A Stockton Avenue
New Hope, PA 18938
215.862.4586
Ferrin Gallery
437 North St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
413 442 1622