Artist Statement
Paul Neuman is a contemporary mixed media artist whose work explores memory, family history, time, and the connections between people and the natural world. Drawing from a lifetime shaped by food, craftsmanship, and design, Neuman creates narrative sculptures and assemblage artworks that combine found objects, symbolic imagery, and personal storytelling.
For more than four decades, Neuman built a successful catering company that allowed him to merge his family’s deep history in food with his passion for art and design. Throughout his career, he maintained a parallel artistic practice, working from studios in New York City and Litchfield County, Connecticut.
A recurring symbol throughout Neuman’s work is the fish — an image deeply rooted in his personal history. Growing up working in his family’s fish market, fish became a powerful representation of family, nourishment, tradition, love, and memory. These familiar forms appear throughout his mixed media sculptures as reminders of the experiences and relationships that shape our lives.
Neuman views art as a form of storytelling. His work invites viewers to explore layers of meaning through a combination of familiar and unexpected symbols, personal artifacts, and found materials. Each piece becomes a visual puzzle — a collection of clues that reveal fragments of his own journey while encouraging viewers to reflect on their own memories, experiences, and interpretations.
Found objects play an important role in Neuman’s creative process. Each object carries its own history, surface, patina, and sense of time. Some materials become essential elements of the story he is building, while others present a challenge because their existing presence and character are so powerful. Through assemblage, Neuman gives these objects new meaning and allows their histories to become part of a larger narrative.
At the heart of Neuman’s work is an exploration of change — the passage of time in the natural world and in human experience. His sculptures reflect on transformation, memory, and the traces we leave behind. The creative process is guided by a balance between intuition and intention, allowing the unconscious mind to influence the final work while maintaining a thoughtful connection to materials and meaning.
Through mixed media sculpture, found object assemblage, and contemporary narrative art, Paul Neuman creates works that serve as both personal reflections and open invitations — stories waiting to be discovered by each viewer.
