Paul Shank

Paintings / Works on Paper

“His earliest landscapes are pictures from the West Coast made during Shank’s time living in San Francisco. Interested in perspective and spatial considerations, these works reflect nuances of location that are fragmented and abstract in presentation. Shank’s signifiers become more literal overtime, as his interest in the form of nature (specific flora and fauna) and cubism become increasingly evident in ‘San Francisco Bay with Iceplant’ (1972) and ‘The Sonora Desert at Ajo’ (1973).”

- Shannon Fitzgerald
“Paul Shank: Landscape, Still-life, Abstraction, and the Figure,” Catalogue. Paintings and Works on Paper, 1964-2008, Philip Slein Gallery, March 2009, St. Louis, MO

Ellen Baake, 1964 oil on canvas. 28 x 39'' private collection
Mykonos, 1966 gouache on paper. 10 x 13''
Greek Landscape #4, 1967 oil on canvas. 47 x 64''
Grand Canyon, 1971 oil on canvas. 61 x 66'' private collection
Arizona #1, 1973 oil on canvas. 49 x 49''
Delos #1, 1973 oil on canvas. 48 x 37''
Delos #2, 1973 oil on canvas. 54 x 61''
Arizona #3, 1974 watercolor on paper. 5 x 6''
Arizona #2, 1975 oil on canvas. 49 x 49''
New York with Iceplant, 1975 oil on canvas. 50 x 60''
Lofthus Norway, 1979 watercolor on paper. 6 x 8''
Fjaerland, 1979 oil on canvas. 60 x 78'' collection of Sam Cardenas
Sognefjord, 1979 watercolor on paper. 11 x 15''
Hardangerfjord, 1979 watercolor on paper. 11 x 15'' private collection
Blue Window, 1988 oil on canvas. 48 x 48''
Landscape with Objects, 1995 oil on canvas. 66 x 66''
Landscape with Column, 1996 oil on canvas. 60 x 78''
El Oued (a), 1998 mixed media on paper. 15 x 11''
El Oued (b), 1999 gouache on paper. 22 x 30''
El Oued (c), 1998 oil on canvas. 35 x 40'' collection of John Lesser
Domes, 1999 oil on canvas. 40 34''
Arches, 2000 oil on canvas. 62 x 66''
El Oued #2, 2000 oil on canvas. 66 x 60''
Grand Eastern Erg, 2000 oil on canvas. 66 x 118''
Desert Night #1, 2000 oil on canvas. 27 x 27''
Desert Night #2, 2000 oil on canvas. 27 x 27''
Desert Night #3, 2000 oil on canvas. 27 x 27''
Desert Night #5, 2000 oil on canvas. 27 x 27''
Desert Night #7, 2001 oil on canvas. 27 x 27'' collection of Angela Miller
Grand Eastern Erg #2, 2001 oil on canvas. 62 x 80''
“One of the strongest pieces in the show comes from Paul Shank. Titled ‘Taormina’, the small mixed media on paper work depicts an architectural landscape setting- which doesn’t sound like any big deal. But Shank takes a visual perspective and palette that might best be described as Arthur Dove dabbling in German Expressionism. Darkly shaded and rich in color, ‘Taormina’ is a wonderfully constructed mass of angles and planes that both tricks and treats the eye.”

- Jeff Daniel
“Landscapes Go in All Directions,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 9, 2000