Magic Realism | Paintings by Paul Emory
On view February 6, 2025–April 5, 2025
Exhibition Opening Thursday, February 6, 2025, 5:30-7:30 pm, Free and Open to the Public
This exhibition is long overdue. The Zanesville Museum of Art is proud to present Magic Realism | Paintings by Paul Emory. A professionally trained artist and a skilled draughtsman, painter, and assemblage artist, Emory is a fixture of this region’s arts and
cultural scene.
He was born nearby in White Cottage, Ohio and returned to Zanesville after he earned fine arts degrees from the Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, New York), the Ohio University (Athens, Ohio) and the Ringling School of Art and Design (Sarasota, Florida).
Now, Zanesville is home. His studio and gallery are located downtown on Main Street in a lovingly restored building, underscoring an interest in preserving the city’s architectural heritage. Emory’s paintings express the same interest in preserving and capturing the everyday customs, people, places, and experiences of this region.
His work also tells stories—surprising, delightful, and sometimes menacing stories. For Emory, “the best works of art make us ask questions.” Emory alters, emphasizes, and animates objects and subjects in his paintings and assemblages so that they take on an almost magical quality. Everyday objects like a child in a grocery cart, a toy train, or a dresser appear strange and fantastic and seem to have shifting meanings.
Paul Emory is a three-time Ohio Arts Council Fellow and a Provincetown, Massachusetts summer resident, whose work is found in corporate and museum collections. He is represented by Sharon Weiss Gallery, Columbus, Ohio.
