B. PHILADELPHIA, PA, 1936
Paul Waters is an African-American artist whose work combines a thoughtful symbolic language with a highly intuitive and playful process. Waters exclusively uses his hands and fingers to apply paint, and a pair of scissors as his “drawing” tool. His canvases are filled with repeated silhouettes made from cut canvas shapes, which reflect his interest in teaching and children’s books, as well as both indigenous traditions and Western painting.
Growing up, Waters attended Saturday classes at Philadelphia’s Fleisher Memorial Art School. It was there that he recalls, “They let me use my fingers instead of brushes.” His creative expression also blossomed out of his fascination with his parents’ collection of original African art and artifacts; from tribes including the Bariba, Ndebele, and the Toma People. His admiration of African art—as well as rock and cave paintings—is reflected throughout his oeuvre.
Waters graduated from Goddard College in Plainfield, VT, and received his Master’s degree from the Bank Street College of Education in New York, NY. He traveled to Europe, Africa, Asia, the South Pacific, and South America before making his home and studio on the Bowery in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the ‘60s and becoming involved in the art community there. He studied closely with Romare Bearden and Hungarian Abstract Expressionist Joseph Fulop.
Between 1965 and 1972, Paul Waters made large-scale paintings in which painted and cut canvas shapes are collaged onto primed canvases. The silhouetted forms suggest dancers, birds, female warriors, and nature, as well as purely geometric, abstract shapes. They are lyrical works often stained with rich color that suggests naturally occurring hues and pigments. These works celebrate the mythical, aboriginal painting, as well as the work of Matisse.
Waters has also been an influential arts educator and cultural programmer throughout his career. He served as Director of the Department of Community Affairs, Newark Museum, Newark, NJ from 1972–75; and Director of the Jamaica Arts Center, Queens, NY from 1975–79. Waters curated a major exhibition for the Newark Museum in 1971: Black Artists: Two Generations.
Waters was the subject of a solo exhibition in 1968 at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. He was included in several historic shows of African-American artists in the 1970s, including Afro American Artists: New York and Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA (1970); and Contemporary Black Art: A Selected Sampling, Florida International University, Miami, FL (1977). He is represented by Eric Firestone Gallery where he was the subject of a major solo presentation in 2022, Paul Waters: In the Beginning, Paintings from the 1960s and 70s. Paul Waters still lives and works on the Bowery today.
Paul Waters
Cousins, 1972–2024
oil on cut canvas collage on canvas
69 1/2 x 60 in.
176.2 x 152.1 cm.
(PWAT1730)
Paul Waters
Two Birds, 1972
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
48h x 36 1/2w in
121.92h x 92.71w cm
PWAT252
Paul Waters
Reindeer, 1972
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
39.0h x 50.0w in
99.06h x 127.0w cm
(PWAT357)
Paul Waters
City Life, 1959
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
69.0h x 60.0w in
175.26h x 152.4w cm
(PWAT356)
Paul Waters
Beautiful Life, 1969
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
46h x 60w in
116.84h x 152.40w cm
PWAT262
Paul Waters
Flowers, 1971
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
58 1/2h x 68 1/2w in
148.59h x 173.99w cm
PWAT268
Paul Waters
The Horse with Scares and Balls, 1970
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
70h x 118w in
177.80h x 299.72w cm
PWAT379
Paul Waters
Nineteen Birds, 1971
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
68 3/4h x 58 1/2w in
174.63h x 148.59w cm
PWAT027
Paul Waters
Victims, 1971
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
34h x 30w in
86.36h x 76.20w cm
PWAT256
Paul Waters
Portrait of Left Handed Artist (self-portrait), 1969
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
36.0h x 30.0w in
91.44h x 76.2w cm
(PWAT236)
Paul Waters
Summertime Love Couple with Flowers, 1969
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
44h x 60w in
111.76h x 152.40w cm
PWAT368
Paul Waters
Elephants, 1972
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
60h x 46w in
152.40h x 116.84w cm
PWAT263
Edges of Ailey is the first large-scale museum exhibition to celebrate the life, dances, influences, and enduring legacy of visionary artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey (b. 1931, Rogers, Texas; d. 1989, New York, New York).
Legendary artist, Paul Waters, dives into his beautiful yet grueling life as an artist. Sammy Loren joins him in his studio to delve into Waters’ extraordinary journey from post-war obscurity to relentless pursuit of artistic expression.
Each year, the popular "Meet the Artists" event allows visitors to the fair to learn more about exhibitor presentations from artists whose work is on view and from experts associated with historical presentations.