Paul Jenkins

Paul Jenkins (1923–2012) was an American painter associated with postwar abstraction. He moved to Paris in the early 1950s, where he became part of the international art scene and developed his characteristic approach to fluid, poured painting. He established a studio on Rue Decrès in Paris around 1954, following the success of his early European exhibitions, and divided his time between Paris and New York throughout his life. Within this milieu, he became connected with Joan Mitchell and Shirley Jaffe, and in 1955, together with Jaffe, introduced Mitchell to Jean-Paul Riopelle. In 1957, Jenkins and Mitchell exchanged studios for a period of approximately two years: Jenkins worked in Mitchell’s studio at St. Mark’s Place in New York, while Mitchell worked in his studio on Rue Decrès in Paris.