Paul Middendorf
Encyclopedia
Neuenbürg
Neuenbürg is a town in the Enz district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Enz, 10 km southwest of Pforzheim.The town has three stops, Neuenbürg, Neuenbürg Süd and Neuenbürg Freibad, on route S6 of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn, which operates over the Enztalbahn railway....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to parents Mary and Robert Middendorf.
Paul spent his earlier years growing up in Lake of the Ozarks
Lake of the Ozarks
The Lake of the Ozarks is a large reservoir created by impounding the Osage River in the northern part of the Ozarks in central Missouri. Extents of three smaller tributaries to the Osage, the Niangua River, Grandglaize Creek, and Gravois Creek, are included in the impoundment...
Missouri and continued to live there until 1996. In 1996 he moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
to study at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2000 Paul received his BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and launched his career as a painter. After working at several galleries in Chicago he started curating, his first effort being Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
and the Factory
The Factory
The Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan. The rent was "only about one hundred dollars a year"...
Friends show, featuring such artists as Ronnie Cutrone
Ronnie Cutrone
Ronnie Cutrone is a Pop artist best known for his large-scale paintings of America's favorite cartoon characters, such as Felix the Cat, Pink Panther and Woody Woodpecker....
, Keith Haring
Keith Haring
Keith Haring was an artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s.-Early life:...
, Mark Kostabi
Mark Kostabi
Kalev Mark Kostabi is an American artist and composer.-Early life:Mark Kostabi was born in Los Angeles on November 27, 1960 to Estonian immigrants Kaljo and Rita Kostabi. He was raised in Whittier, California and studied drawing and painting at California State University, Fullerton...
, and more.
In 2002 Paul moved to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
to begin working directly with the thriving art scene as an artist and curator. He was assistant curator for PCAC and The Modern Zoo, where he curated a variety of shows and creatively led as one of their key engineers. In 2003 he became a co-founder and curator for Disjecta
Disjecta
Disjecta is a not-for-profit arts organization in Portland, Oregon that was founded in 2000 by Bryan Suereth. In their first location, Disjecta held over 500 shows, showingcasing 3,000 artists and hosting 30,000 patrons. In 2008 Disjecta announced the public opening of their new 16,000 sf arts...
Interdisciplinary Art Center, and continued on as Creative Director until 2005. Paul Middendorf is currently living and working in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
as an artist and curator.
While still maintaining his role as an artist, Paul has curated over 65 shows.
He is currently Director and Founder of Gallery Homeland
Gallery Homeland
galleryHOMELAND is a non profit art organization and art space located in southeast Portland, Oregon, United States,founded in 2005 by Paul Middendorf and Paige Saez. Currently galleryHOMELAND exhibits contemporary art by regional, national,and international artists. In 2009 galleryHOMELAND co...
.
Related projects
- Guerrilla Consumption
- Manifest Artistry
- Lifeboat-Miami
- Lifeboat-Hamptons Micro-Scope