paul medina
2019 exhibit 4 artist
bio
Oklahoma born artist; Paul Medina has been making art for over 40 years.
He has always worked in a mixed media format, saying he was “much too restless” to be confined to any one medium. Part of the joy of making art is the struggle through the unknown of materials and new tools. The main search of diverse mediums has been to find the right combination to express his concepts in the best possible way.
statement
oses and Thorns Series
A Journey of Sorrow and Beauty
This new series was born from grief and the weight of a great loss. I lost four of my closest family members in a span of two years and it shattered me. I had become the oldest of my family. My studio had always been a refuge for me in difficult times, but this time was different, I couldn’t even enter my workshop.
As I processed my loss, I struggled to find a new way to express my sorrow and make sense of the dispair. The first to emerge from my endeavors were the clay Roses and Thorns sculpture. The work began to represent how I was feeling. The rose was a perfect metaphor for me, the pain of the thorns and the bloom, a revelation that great beauty could come from such a cost.
The painted rose collages followed. As I accepted my losses and found better footing in this journey, I focused on the glory of the rose. The thorns would always remain with me, but the beauty of the love, the connection and the memories of my families would live with me for the rest of my life.