Paul Pletka (b.1946)

Paul Pletka

(b.1946)

Born in San Diego and educated at Arizona State University in Phoenix and Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Paul Pletka has spent his life painting the subject that most fascinates – Native Americans. In an interview with Art Talka, Pletka said “When I was a youngster and first became enchanted with Indian costume, lore and artifacts, I would sometimes pretend I was an Indian. I soon realized that was not intellectually reasonable. I am not an Indian. I am simply an interpreter.”

Despite his humble words, Pletka is regarded by the art world as well as many Native Americans as quite simply – one of the best. His paintings have been exhibited in one-man shows throughout Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas as well as Chicago and New York continuously since 1964. Pletka’s works grace more than 40 private and public art collections including the Albuquerque Art Museum, the Texas Museum of Art and the United States Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C..

Interestingly enough, Pletka has never taken a painting course. His focus in college was printmaking. Through an extensive process of experimentation, he refined his technique and works in a style considered by experts as Neo-Surrealism. His heroic-sized visions of Indian mysticism are distinguished by exacting details that can only be achieved when technique is coupled with dedicated research.

Source: Art Fortune

Paul Pletka