Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Paul Richard: Taking street art to another level

Walking in New York is usually more about looking up than looking down but in certain areas of the city, there may be good reasons to look at what is happening at your feet. 

I recently discovered a New York street artist named Paul Richard and the more I learn about his work, the more I am crazy about it. This man – like many other street artists I agree – has been working for years at turning New York into a giant art gallery that all citizens and visitors can enjoy constantly and for free. And with him, street art is taken to another level…


Piece of art on the West sidewalk
of 10th Avenue between 22nd and 23rd Streets
Mind the ground you are walking on
Paul Richard is a Boston and New York-based artist well known for his paintings
Christina Aguilera, apparently, has a big portrait of his in her bedroom – but also for his beautiful elegant portraits of gentlemen that you can find on many of New York City’s sidewalks. A perfect example of New York’s eccentricity, his work is unique, sophisticated and timeless; it is also
inconspicuous so you can easily miss it if you don’t pay attention to the ground you are walking on.

Designated art
More than 10 years ago, Paul Richard created designated art: he basically started declaring as works of art urban infrastructures and unlikely objects by creating little art exhibit plaques and attaching them to different things on the streets, for instance tree stumps, fire hydrants and lamp posts. He even put an estimate value on some items!


Here are some resources to learn more about this very captivating artist:

I am still working on finding Paul Richard’s art works in the city; as far as I know there is a gentleman drawing on the West sidewalk of 10th Avenue between West 22nd Street and West 23rd Street and one on West 23rd Street on the North sidewalk between 7th and 8th Avenues. But the artist also left his mark on the Meatpacking District as well as in Soho and NoLiTa, and even in some areas of Brooklyn.

Does anyone know about some exact locations of his pieces of art?

4 comments:

  1. Hey there.... found this page after myself finally discovering one of these with his name on it. I've found prob around 10 or so around williamsburg\greenpoint.

    off the top of my head you can find one on Kent st just outside the entrance to the bushwick inlet park and if you go north along kent where it turns into franklin you'll find several more. The one I found today with his name on it is on oak st between west st and franklin more towards the oak st side. it's just after a gymnastics studio or something where the sidewalk it kind of over grown with grass and stuff. If you head north on west from oak you'll find several more basically take a right off oak onto west and stay on the right hand side. Interestingly you'll find a stencil by him along this stretch also that was advertising something he was doing at the moma back in 2000, apparently it was him eating lunch or something like that. If you keep going along the same side of west street you'll find one on that same side of the street at the intersection of west and india and further along up the way on west you'll find several more as you get up to the north end of greenpoint. No idea if he was living around there at one point but the folwer art collective is along there, I don't know if he was associated with them or not but this stretch seems to have the highest density of them compared to the other places they are around. No idea what he's doing these days or if he's around or not, he seems to have dropped off the face of the earth around sept 8 2010, atleast that is the last time his webpage was updated. @ paulrichard.net

    Happy hunting if you decided to head up that way.

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  2. He works right across the street in Greenpoint from the Beer store on Greenpoint Ave.

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  3. Westside HWY between 57th and 56th.

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  4. Mike and Mary MeehanMay 28, 2017 at 2:19 PM

    Paul's work is brilliant, it draws you into the sidewalk and before you know it you are in love with his drippings. Peaceful paintings that you want to follow throughout the city. We need more, Paul!...and thank you!

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