Orleans, MA PAUL SCHULENBURG Stories from the Pier
Cape Cod-based artist Paul Schulenburg returns to Addison Art Gallery this July for his annual one-man show. “With an international reputation for his painterly approach to still lifes and landscapes as well as his highly regarded figurative work, Paul’s collectors are drawn to his optimistic outlook,” says gallery director Helen Addison. “Once again, the work for his annual one-man show has been selling while still on his easel.”
Living half a mile away from Cape Cod Bay to the west and 2 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Schulenburg finds constant inspiration from his surroundings. Although he often paints landscapes, he opts to include figures in his work whenever possible. “I love painting people, and for practice I host a weekly figure and portrait painting group in my studio, which usually includes 17 artists plus myself and one model,” he says.
For his show at Addison Art Gallery, the artist is focusing on waterfront works and paintings portraying local commercial fisherman, with landscapes and still lifes mixed in.
He explains, “I enjoy the activity of the fish pier and the interesting compositions I am able to come up with using the light and shadow and architecture of the boats as well as the colorful clothes the fishermen often wear.”
In his oil Just Back, a fisherman donning neon orange overalls takes a break while offloading his catch.
“As the bins of fish and ice are dumped into an elevator in stages, the workers have to wait for the elevator to return before filling it up again with more fish,” Schulenburg says. “The man is lost in thought while waiting to return to his duty. Beyond the narrative of the situation, I was attracted to the patterns of sunlight and shadow and the zigzag diagonal lines created by the buckets and the architecture of the boat. There is a bright light on his orange oilskins and T-shirt but his face is in a shadow,
creating a bit of mystery about him personally. Looking down from above creates a flattened perspective, allowing me to use the various triangle shapes and other elements as a kind of jigsaw puzzle of compositional elements surrounding the figure of the man.”
The same fishermen are depicted in several other works in the series, doing various aspects of their jobs—each with their own comprehensive narrative.
It’s this eye for detail and connection to his artwork that has garnered Schulenburg admiration from his collectors, artists and leaders in his local art community alike, including from Benton Jones, the director of art at the Cape Cod Museum of Art.
“Through a complete devotion to his work and his caring, personal relationships with the expansive community of artists here, Schulenburg’s art is ever-evolving and forward looking,” Jones says. “This persistent personal commitment toward selfexploration gives each work its own organic narrative, told through layers of oil paint on canvas, to be revealed by the deep viewer and eventually resolving over time.”
Schulenburg’s solo exhibition will be on view at Addison Art Gallery in Orleans, Massachusetts, from July 6 through August 1, with an opening reception on July 6 from 5 to 7 p.m. New works from the artist are presented at the gallery year-round.