Paul Kremer

{{Infobox artist

| name = Paul Kremer

| birth_date = {{birth date |1971|01|02|}}

| nationality = American

| known_for = Painting

| movement = Color Field painting, Conceptual Art, Post-painterly abstraction

}}

Paul Kremer, (born January 2, 1971), is an American artist whose artwork references Color Field painting and Minimalism

Work

= Paintings =

Art in America's Raphael Rubinstein describes Kremer's work as "bold compositions whose hard-edge, single-color shapes (generally red-orange, black, or white) oscillate between flat abstraction and illusionistic geometry, evoking monumental architecture as well as broken-off glacier sections. "{{Cite journal|last=Rubinstein|first=Rafael|date=March 2018|title=Stranger Tools|journal=Art in America|pages=66}} Rubinstein also writes: "Kremer's uninflected surfaces and smooth contours mark him as an heir of Ellsworth Kelly." New York-based art historian and curator Alex Bacon has written extensively on Kremer's work and has praised the artist's ability to combine abstraction with everyday familiarity: "Abstracting from familiar forms. . . enables Kremer to harness the sensations that arise from our day-to- day encounters."{{Cite web|url=http://www.sorrywereclosed.com/en/artistes/oeuvres/8099/paul-kremer|title=Paul Kremer Bio|website=Sorry We're Closed|access-date=March 25, 2018}} Kremer's work has also been referred to as "wonderfully freeing" and Kremer's use of overlapping color fields has been likened to "Josef Albers-style color interactions."{{Cite web|url=http://glasstire.com/2015/03/08/ok-art-at-the-party-tyme-corral/|title = OK Art at the Party-Tyme Corral|date = March 8, 2015}}

= Great Art in Ugly Rooms =

In 2013 Kremer began a Tumblr site called Great Art in Ugly Rooms, which has been described as "the visual equivalent of a Steven Wright stand up routine"{{Cite web|url=https://trufflehunting.wordpress.com/2013/05/24/great-art-in-ugly-rooms/|title=Great Art in Ugly Rooms|date=May 24, 2013}} and as the "enchanting train wreck that occurs when a truly great work of art is juxtaposed with the most revolting of interiors."{{Cite web|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/24/great-art-in-ugly-rooms-tumblr_n_3492040.html|title = 'Great Art in Ugly Rooms' Makes Us Laugh|website = HuffPost|date = June 24, 2013}}

The site quickly gained a loyal cult following worldwide and began to garner critical attention from a number of online media sites.{{Cite web|url=http://hyperallergic.com/71974/the-pleasure-of-great-art-in-ugly-rooms/|title = The Pleasure of Great Art in Ugly Rooms|date = May 28, 2013}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672730/whats-great-art-doing-in-these-ugly-rooms|title = What's Great Art Doing in These Ugly Rooms?|date = June 7, 2013}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/2822/great-art-in-ugly-rooms|title = Great Art in Ugly Rooms|date = June 26, 2013}} Kremer's public showings of these images were well received by local Houston media.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2014/01/great_art_in_ugly_rooms_is_exa.php |title="Great Art in Ugly Rooms" Is Exactly That {{!}} Houston Press |website=blogs.houstonpress.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413113103/http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2014/01/great_art_in_ugly_rooms_is_exa.php |archive-date=2014-04-13}}http://www.houstonpress.com/2014-01-23/calendar/great-art-in-ugly-rooms/ {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}

= Image Search Paintings =

Kremer captures screenshots of image searches and presents them as large-scale ink jet prints.{{cite web | url=http://thebrandoncontemporary.com/art-prestige-in-domestic-yucky | title=403 Forbidden }} These works were on view at Mark Flood Resents (collection) in Miami during Art Basel 2014.{{Cite web|url=https://www.artbasel.com/en/Miami-Beach|title=Art Basel in Miami Beach}}

= Art Scrub =

Kremer's idea of the "art scrub" is an offshoot concept of the Photoshop-driven visual manipulations associated with GAIUR. The term "art scrub"http://artscrub.tumblr.com/ {{User-generated source|date=August 2022}} refers to the virtual photo-manipulative act of electronically erasing artwork from its gallery surroundings.

= I Love You Baby =

Kremer was a co-founder of ILYB{{Cite web|url=http://glasstire.com/events/2009/08/08/i-love-you-baby/|title = I Love You Baby}} and a regular collaborator with this "legendary Houston anti-art collective"{{Cite web|url=http://www.freepresshouston.com/blogging-while-intoxicated-goodbye-and-good-riddance-to-rick-casey-and-steven-thomson/|title = Blogging while intoxicated: Goodbye and Good riddance to Rick Casey and Steven Thomson|date = September 5, 2011}} (1997–2007). Other founder members included Rodney Elliott and Will Bentsen. In 2002 the group began meeting regularly on Wednesday nights at Commerce Street Artists’ Warehouse (CSAW) and adopted the name I Love You Baby (ILYB). They soon inducted Chris Bexar and Dale Stewart as ILYB members. Regular contributors Mark Flood, Andrea Chin, Ed Goleman, Julie Boone, and Hugo Fat were documented visiting weekly. Other notable artists such as Mel Chin and Daniel Johnston visited on occasion. ILYB's website iloveyoubaby.org acts as an archive of their work from 2003 to 2008.

In 2005 ILYB achieved local notoriety for their mock installation-driven send up of corporate culture in the "Office Christmas Party Show" at Commerce Street Artists Warehouse.http://www.houstonpress.com/2005-12-22/news/office-spaced/ {{Dead link|date=February 2022}} In 2006, ILYB was voted "Best Artistic Collaboration" by the Houston Press.{{cite web| url = http://www.houstonpress.com/bestof/2006/award/best-artistic-collaboration-198096/| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080621072452/http://www.houstonpress.com/bestof/2006/award/best-artistic-collaboration-198096/| archive-date = 2008-06-21| title = Houston - Best Of - Best Artistic Collaboration - I Love You Baby (2006) - Houston Press}}

Graphic Design Work

Kremer operated two prominent Houston-based design studios (The Speared Peanut 1991–2005 which he co-owned with Kristina Dickinson Kremer.) His most well-known graphic design work includes official websites for Lou Reed, Tom Waits, John Lurie, Lyle Lovett, Rice School of Architecture, College of Environmental Design, UC Berkeley among many others.