PAUL G. OXBOROUGH
	FOREWORD A young woman smiles sweetly from across the bar, her face bathed in a fluorescent underglow. Does she smile at us or, perhaps, at the man who sits across from her? We see his reflection over her shoulder as he raises his glass in salutation. It is, in fact, the face of the artist mischievously secreted in the shadow. The question begs, however, is the toast in recognition of her or an acknowledgement to the viewer? The title declares it is a tribute to the inspiration of Édouard Manet...yet her smile and ours suggests it is a bit of all three. Paul G. Oxborough, an American artist born in 1965 in Minnesota, cites among his greatest influences Sargent, Velázquez, Sorolla, and Chase, as well as Manet. He studied at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and at Atelier Leseuer, where he spent four years immersed in a classical style of training that adheres to a stringent, French academic tradition. For this exhibition, Oxborough has created a body of work, which is characteristically diverse in subject, palette and tonality. He infuses each painting with a sensuality that is tangible and satisfying. Expert draftsmanship and technique allow his execution to be at once spontaneous and studied. Not conforming to an imperative that demands a strict visual reality, he interprets, suggests and guides us through an experience, which is wholly his own. "Autumn" has the loving feel of a father's caress as the artist's two daughters languish in the last warm days of the season. The surface of the painting is lush and Oxborough's brushstroke is commandingly free and fluid. Cushioned on a carpet of amber leaves, the girls are bathed in a soft yellow glow that communicates Oxborough's mastery of the infinite qualities of light, whatever it's source. Light, the artist cites, is his greatest inspiration. In fact, Oxborough, with his family, has traveled extensively, not so much to see the sights, as to see the light. He describes for instance, the sky as yellow and pink in France, but the sunlight's reflection as white as snow in Portugal. The family's last trip, to Louisiana, inspired interior scenes like the moody jazz club in "Trumpet Solo" and the steamy kitchen in "Jambalaya, Crawfish Pie and a File Gumbo" where flames dance off the chef's smiles. These genre scenes of ordinary people, admits the artist, are some of his personal favorites. Included as well in this exhibition are Oxborough's elegant women with creamy, white skin and soulful gazes. Of particular note is "Red Dress", in which a rather innocent looking young woman sits in a most provocatively colored dress, leaning seductively against her companion. In this work, the artist has created a sexual tension, which is at once both naive and enticing. It is a delightful and fascinating combination, held delicately and suspended in time. Paul G. Oxborough is an artist of extraordinary perception, interpretation and skill. He is in the best sense a continuation, a linear connection in a visceral way to the great figurative art of the last century. More importantly, however, he has earned a place of prominence in the current movement of great figurative artists of the century unfolding. In the last months, Oxborough has been singled out for acclaim by Artnews, Art & Antiques and CNN.
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