Paul Jenkins

Signed in ink, lower right.

Jenkins' interest in phenomenology—the study of experience and consciousness—was sparked in 1959 after engaging with Kant’s philosophy and Goethe’s color theories. From that point on, he began titling his works with Phenomena, followed by a descriptive word or phrase, signaling his ongoing inquiry into perception. In this composition, prismatic veils of color descend toward a central white void, creating a striking contrast with the cascading hues. These fluid washes mingle and overlap, forming a dynamic narrative of color in motion. Rooted in his fascination with the nature of consciousness, Jenkins evokes a chromatic and ever-shifting sense of perception. His watercolor drips on paper recall Newtonian prisms refracting light through glass, while dark boundaries between colors press against areas of negative space, particularly along the lower and right edges. As colors converge on a richly saturated plane, the viewer is invited to examine their interactions and the ephemeral moments they create.