Paul Emory paints places he has never really been and people he has never met. He begins each painting with a real place and with someone who lives in or occupies the space. These places are often modest living rooms, bedrooms, automobile interiors or front yards. The people in his paintings are the people from his daily life. The animals that share their lives are often included. However, each place Image and each human or animal character is transformed and reconstructed through the physical and creative act of painting.

Emory calls this process "deconstruction," and it consists of whimsically rearranging furniture, walls, colors and faces. Images of people are no longer portraits. This artist does not paint what is, but, instead, energetically paints what could be. Emory amends their perspective too, often seeing things from above and pulling the elements close to the surface of the painting. The artist enjoys telling stories in his paintings and uses this process to call attention to what is happening. He often makes us smile.

Paul grew up in a little town near Zanesville called White Cottage in a house with several brothers and sisters shod in cheap tennis shoes and frequently threatened with being sent "to the children's home".

Paul presently lives in an old (very old) farmhouse on the outskirts of Zanesville. The house, it's outbuildings, the animals, the garden, all of it really, ends up in most of his paintings, that, and an endless stream of sometimes anxiety ridden, but always true to life, childhood memories. Paul also maintains an in town studio, a rented out gallery, and several other downtown buildings which he has single-handedly rehabilitated. he is a key member of the formation of the Downtown Zanesville Artists Colony. he has a precious little girl named Ruby with Nora Daniel.

Paul Emory received his BFA at the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and was awarded his MFA from Ohio University, Athens. His paintings have been included in museum and gallery exhibitions all over Ohio, West Virginia and New York. Previously granted Ohio Arts Council Individual Art Fellowships in 1991 and 2001, in 2005 he was awarded an Ohio Arts Council Summer Residency Fellowship which he spent in Provincetown, Massachusetts. His work has most recently been included in the Permanent Collection of the Supreme Court of Ohio and The Limited Corporation in Columbus, Ohio.

Education
1987 MFA, Ohio University
1982 Pratt Institute
1981 BFA, Ringling School of Art & Design

Exhibitions
2016 Mid-Year National Show Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
2013 Ohio State Fair
2013 Ohio Art League Exhibition, Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH
2012 Hayley Gallery, One Person Show, New Albany, OH
2012 Ohio State Fair, Columbus, OH
2011 The Spirit of an Appalachian Region, OSU Urban Art Space, Columbus, OH
2011 Ohio State Fair
2010 Sharon Wise Gallery, Lincoln St., Columbus, OH
2009 Governor's Mansion Invitational, Columbus, OH
2008 Sharon Weiss Gallery, Columbus, OH
*2007 Riffe Center, Columbus, OH
2007 Ohio Art League, Columbus, OH
2006 Cultural Arts Center Slide Presentation, Columbus, OH
2006 Governor's Mansion Invitational, Columbus, OH
2006 Muskingum College / One Man Show / New Concord, OH
2005 Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA
2003 Sunrise Museum / Appalachian Corridors / Charleston, WV
2002 Lanning Gallery, Columbus OH
2001 Art Space, Lima, OH
1991 Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
1990 Canton Art Institute, Canton, OH
1989 Ward-Nasse Gallery, New York, NY
1988 Trumbull Art Guild, Warren, OH
1987 Kent State University, Kent, OH

Awards
2017 Individual Artist Award, Ohio Arts Council, Fellowship Recipient
2009 Permanent Collection of The Limited, Columbus, OH 2007 Included in Permanent Collection, Supreme Court of Ohio, Columbus
2005 Ohio Arts Council Summer Residency, Provincetown, MA
2001 Ohio Arts Council Individual Fellowship
1991 Ohio Arts Council Individual Fellowship
1991 Butler Institute of American Art / USA Invitational
1990 Governor's Residence Art Invitational
1990 Canton Art Institute / All Ohio Show Invitational
1988 Ward-Nasse Gallery / Artist's Choice National Juried Exhibition
1987 Kent State University / A New Generation of Ohio Artists Invitational
Reviews
2005 August 26, "In Provincetown, The Glory of the Ordinary" by Cate McQuaid, Boston Globe
1988 Village Voice, New York City