Paul Cordes Wilm – Our Divided Circus

This exhibition round includes works provided by Paul Cordes Wilm which will be on view in the First Floor Main Gallery from July 16 – September 20, 2025.  Lowe Mill A&E invites patrons and art lovers to join us for Open Studio Night, a building-wide experience when our over 150 studios will be open to the public.  The evening also includes receptions for all seven of our gallery spaces. This series gives the public a chance to meet and interact with visiting artists and discuss their work as it is on display and available for purchase. Come out, enjoy a pleasant evening, and maybe you’ll find that special piece of art that speaks to you!  The Open Studio Night reception is Saturday, September 20 from 5-7 pm.

 

Paul Cordes Wilm is a Southern artist and musician, born and raised in (Theodore) Alabama. He currently lives in Birmingham. 

Equally influenced by abstract expressionist Robert Rauschenberg and (Alabama folk artist) Mose Tolliver, the bright house paint colors (a good-natured nod to the artist’s red/green colorblindness), bold ink lines, satirical juxtapositions, subtle social commentary and sharp sense of humor all make Paul Cordes Wilm’s “Folk-Pop” paintings on found wood instantly recognizable. 

His latest series, Our Divided Circus attempts to paint a subconscious portrait of these strange, chaotic and unpredictable times we’re experiencing. 

This exhibit was inspired by :

automatism, bingo cards (Mexican), climate change, dreams (half-remembered), early morning birdsong, freeform radio, geography, Halloween, intuition, jigsaw puzzles, kitchen conversations, language, Musique Concrete, night, the occult, politics (current), questioning, road trips, spirits, transformation, uncertainty, vernacular, wood (patterns),   X (generation), the Year of the Snake, zoo cages